president's address. 169 



ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TYNESIDE 

 NATURALISTS' EIELD CLUB. 



EEAD BY THE PEESIDENT, W. MARK PTBUS, ESQ., AT THE FIFTY- 

 SIXTH ANNIVEESABY, HELD IN THE COMMITTEE EOOM OF THE 

 NATUEAL HISTOEY SOCIETY, ON THE 2ND DAT OF MAY, 1902. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, — When I was invited to accept 

 the honour of nomination for the Presidency of your Club, 

 I hesitated to attempt to follow in the footsteps of the many 

 able and accomplished naturalists who had during over half 

 a century presided over you, but bemg assured it was the 

 unanimous desire of your Committee that I should allow 

 myself to be nominated, valuing the distinction intended to be 

 conferred upon me, and relying upon your indulgence and 

 support, I allowed my name to go before you. 



I thank you for the high honour you have done me in 

 electing me as your President, and I trust the old traditions 

 of the Club have been upheld during my year of office, and 

 its usefulness in no way impaired. 



My first duty is to bring before you and preserve for record 

 the proceedings of the Field Meetings of the Club during the 

 year. 



The First Field Meeting was fixed for Whit Monday, 

 the 27th of May, the locality chosen being Stanhope and the 

 neighbourhood. 



A small number of the party preceded the main body and 

 reached Stanhope on the Saturday. 



The capital of Weardale stands on an elevation of about 

 700 feet, and is surrounded by hills of verdant pasturage 

 merging into dark brown heather capped tops, the highest of 

 which — Collier Law — rises to nearly 1,700 feet, though in the 

 parish of Stanhope, Burnhope Seat reaches 2,452 feet. 



The ancient Britons hunted in the forest of Weardale and 

 made their homes in its caves. When the stalagmitic in- 

 crustation was removed from the bottom of Heathery Burn 

 Cave, which lay between the Red Vein Mine and the lead 



