on " Deltas," and (2nd) a paper by Mr. John Brown on M The 

 Atmospheric feeding of plants." The third meeting was held 

 on the 30th January, 1883, when a paper was read by Mr. 

 Wra, Gray, M.R.I.A., entitled "Notes on House Drainage." 

 The fourth meeting was held on the 6th February, when a 

 paper was read by Mr. S. A. Stewart, F.S.B.E., on " Rathlin 

 Island, with notes on its Natural History and Antiquities;" 

 also a paper by Mr. W. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A., on " Etching 

 on Copper." The fifth and sixth meetings were held on the 

 27th February and the 6th March, when two lectures were 

 delivered by Professor Letts, on " The Spectroscope and its 

 Uses." These lectures were illustrated by experiments, with the 

 assistance of the electric arc. They were very well attended, 

 the large lecture-room being crowded to inconvenience on both 

 occasions. The seventh meeting was held on the 10th April, 

 when a paper was read by the Rev. Robert Workman, New- 

 townbreda, on " The Warfare of Ancient Ireland." 



In addition to these ordinary meetings, two special meetings 

 were held under the auspices of our Society, in St. George's 

 Hall, on the 24th and 26th April, when Mr. Richard A. Proctor 

 delivered two lectures — the first on " The birth and death of 

 Worlds," and the second on " The Sun : the Ruler, Light, and 

 Life of the Solar System." These lectures proved highly 

 successful, being very largely attended, and giving the greatest 

 pleasure and instruction to the audiences. 



On the occasion of all the above-mentioned meetings, special 

 as well as ordinary, except one, the chair was occupied by the 

 President of the Society, Mr. Robert Lloyd Patterson. The 

 exception referred to was the meeting of the 30th January, when 

 the Rev. Canon Grainger presided. At all the meetings the 

 attendance was above the average of recent years, and the 

 Council feel that they may congratulate the shareholders and 

 members generally on a distinctly increasing public interest in 

 our proceedings. To assist in making the meetings more 

 social and attractive, and also to render attendance more 

 convenient for the increasing number of our members who 

 reside in the country, the Council during the past session 



