196 [I'roc. B.N.F.O.. 



no less successful than those of his relations in the earlier 

 ones. 



At this meeting — the first Annual Meeting of the Club — 

 the active Mr. Tate resigned his post as Secretary, much to the 

 regret of all who had the interests of the Club at heart. 



Mr. W. H. Patterson was elected Secretary and Mr. W. H. 

 Phillips Treasurer (and he is our Treasurer yet), and Mr. 

 Gray was added to the Committee. 



I regret to say that the minutes give no account of the 

 Conversazione ; and this ends the first year, which owing to its 

 importance I have given in some detail, and I think it com- 

 pares well with many of its followers. I always think there 

 is a halo round the beginning of things that are honestly 

 good, and in this case deservedly so. 



Glancing over the following years I find that in 1864 

 Greyabbey was visited, and a note is made of slate quarries 

 near that place, then recently worked and abandoned. It is 

 a pity that they are not opened up, considering the present 

 price and the difficulty of getting slates. I find, however, 

 that when I go to the minutes of June, 1877, the Club 

 repeated this excursion, when it found this quarry in working 

 order, and the report says that in addition to roofing slates, 

 much of the material was cut into slabs suitable for hearths 

 and tombstones, etc., its fine, close texture and uniform 

 colour making it specially suitable for these purposes. I fear 

 this industry is once again extinct. 



In the Session of 1865-6 the Annual Meeting was held 

 on the 29th May, and the name of the " Field Naturalists' 

 Club," as selected in the first year, was altered to '' The Belfast 

 Naturalists' Field Club," by which it has been called ever since, 

 and which is now widely and deservedly known. 



In this year our friend Mr. Gray was elected one of the 

 Honorary Secretaries, and under his helping hand the Club 

 grew and prospered. The Club now worked well, both in the 

 field in summer and in the house in winter, slowly and gradu- 

 ally increasing its membership and making its usefulness felt 

 outside its own circle. In the Session of 1869-70 an impor- 



