146 REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE. 



earliest -working members through his father John Adamson, 

 Esqr. (Secretary for many years of the Literary and Philosophical 

 Society), who was not only an original member of this Society, 

 and on its Committee from the first, but was also one of the few 

 naturalists who, as members of the Lit. and Phil. Society, first 

 organized a Museum in Newcastle in connection with that 

 Society. He was an enthusiastic botanist and conchologist, as 

 shown by the donation of plants and shells to the Museum in its 

 infancy, and the portfolios of drawings of Shells presented by 

 his son, the Eev. Edw. Hussey Adamson. In his early days, 

 Mr. Charles Adamson devoted himself chiefly to researches in 

 Ornithology, and became an accomplished and accurate observer, 

 especially of the wading birds and the seasonal changes of plum- 

 age of this interesting group — his interesting notes " Scraps 

 about Birds," being chiefly devoted to observations on the 

 "Waders and other Water-birds made through a long series of 

 years at Prestwick Carr and on the coasts of ]S"orthumberland. 

 In later years his attention was particularly drawn to the study 

 of the Lepidoptera, by the large and rare collections of Butterflies 

 sent by his eldest son, Lt.-Col. C. H. E. Adamson, from Burmah. 

 Mr. Adamson served on the Committee for a long series of years, 

 and afterwards was elected a Vice-President. He was an 

 enthusiastic naturalist of the old-school type, which played so 

 important a part in extending the pursuits of Natural History 

 during the first half of the present century. 



Mr. Thomas Bell, whose loss to the Society we also deplore, 

 formerly took an active part as a member of the Committee in 

 the affairs of the Society, until his removal from this district. 

 He was an enthusiastic collector of the Lepidoptera, which pur- 

 suit he followed as a recreation and relaxation from business up 

 to the last year. On removing from this neighbourhood he was 

 elected a Vice-President of the Society. 



DONATIONS. 



Some rather interesting donations have been made to the 

 Museum collections. The Mammalian series has been enriched 

 by the gift of a fine specimen of the rare Marsupial Mole, 



