president's addeess. 15 



the heavy downfall and pitiless cold of the day fixed for the 

 biennial gathering at Marsden Bock literally swamped the meet- 

 ing. I believe some half dozen individuals, in whose hearts 

 duty rather than pleasure predominated, did set out according to 

 the official instructions, and of these, I am told, five (viz. : two 

 ladies and three gentlemen) did arrive at Marsden. I was not 

 of the number and I have no report of their proceedings, natural 

 history or other, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, 

 I cannot doubt that the afternoon was agreeably and instruc- 

 tively spent. 



So much for the out-door summer proceedings. 



During the Winter two Evening Meetings have been held in 

 conjunction with the Natural History Society. At the first of 

 these, on the 15th January, a report, to which I must revert 

 presently, was presented by the Committee appointed in July to 

 consider the best means of preserving a record of the remarkable 

 trees of the district ; and the following papers were read : — 



" Note on the Museum Collection of British Insects" by Mr. 

 Thomas John Bold. 



" Note on the Occurrence of Vanessa Antiopa," by Mr. Thomas 

 John Bold. 



" Note on Bones dredged in the Bed of the River Wear in 1872," 

 by D. Embleton, M.D. 



All of them will doubtless appear in our Transactions. Two 

 new members were afterwards elected. 



The Second Evening Meeting was held on the 20th of March, 

 when two important contributions to our natural history litera- 

 ture were presented, viz.: — the long looked for " Catalogue of 

 Birds observed in Northumberland and Durham" by Mr. John 

 Hancock, and a paper " On a Collection of Fossils from the Iron- 

 stone Shale of Medesdale and Bellingham" by Mr. Richard Howse. 

 Seldom has our Club seen a larger or more enthusiastic gathering 

 than that which assembled to hear these papers, and never has 

 their attention been better repaid. They will of course appear 

 in the Transactions, and I can only commend them to the care- 

 ful perusal of such members as had not the good fortune to hear 



