OCT 31 1895 



NATURAL HISTORY TRANSACTIONS 



l^ORTHUMBERLAND, DURHAM, AND NEWCASTLE- 

 TJPON-TTNE. 



ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TYNESIDE 

 NATURALISTS' EIELD CLUB. 



BEAD BY THE PBESIDENT, J. F. SPENCE, ESQ., NOETH SHIELDS, AT THE 

 POETT-SEVENTH ANNIVEBSAEY, HELD IN THE LIBEARY OP THE 

 MUSEUM OP THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY ON WEDNESDAY, 

 23ED MAY, 1894. 



Ladies and Gtentlemen, — When I found during my absence 

 from home twelve months ago that you had done me the 

 unexpected and undeserved honour to elect me your President 

 for the year, I felt strongly tempted to ask you to excuse me ; 

 not because I did not feel an intense interest in the valuable 

 scientific research which the Tyneside Naturalists' Eield Club 

 was founded to cultivate, but because I felt that I, a mere dabbler 

 on the outskirts of Natural Science, was entirely unfitted to 

 occupy the position which by your kindness I do to-day ; and I 

 feel this the more when I look over our records, and see amongst 

 our former Presidents and members the names of such men as 

 the brothers Hancock, Canon Tristram, Dr. Norman, Mr. Joshua 

 Alder, Dr. Embleton, Professor Brady, and a host of others, 

 some of whom are with us to-day, and others are gone from 

 amongst us — ^men whose names are closely and many of them 

 illustriously associated with the study of Natural Science. I 

 cannot but think that I am wholly unworthy of the honourable 

 ■ position in which you have placed me. Having said so much, 

 I will to the best of my ability, and in accordance with time- 

 honoured custom, proceed to give a resume of the salient points 



A 



