NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 



OF 



NORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM, AND NEWCASTLE- 

 UPON-TYNE 



REPORT OF THE COUNCIL • 



FOR 1906-1907 



During the year twenty-one ordinary members, one honorary 

 member and two associates have been elected, but the losses 

 by death and resignation have amounted to thirty-seven. 

 This leaves the total membership at the close of the year 

 at 409, or a decrease of thirteen since the date of the last 

 report. Your Council greatly regret that they have not a 

 more favourable state of things to report in regard to the 

 membership. Though the decrease has not been large, it has 

 been steady now for several years : and tliis, at a time when 

 efforts are being made in several directions to extend the 

 Society's usefulness, is decidedly discouraging. On the other 

 hand, even during the past few months, two or three of the 

 members have been remarkably successful in bringing in new 

 subscribers. It can hardly be doubted that many other 

 members could do the Society a similar service if they would 

 call attention to the work it is doing, and to the extent to 

 which it is hampered in this v;ork by lack of sufficient 

 support. 



By the death of Sir John D. Milburn the Society loses one 

 of the eleven new Trustees who were appointed only so 

 recently as last December. The late Aid. John Dent, also, 

 was one of the new Members of Council elected at the last 

 Annual Meeting; it was hoped that his business ability and 

 his enthusiastic interest in everything connected with marine 

 natural history would have made him a valuable officer of the 

 Society, but the illness which resulted in his death prevented 

 him from ever attending a meeting. Another loss which the 



