II 



PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS : 



THE EXTINCT FLORAS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS, 



DELIVERED BY 



ROBERT CUNNINGHAM, Esq., M.D., F.R.U.I., 



Professor of Natural History and Geology, in Queen's College, 

 Belfast, 



On Tuesday Evening, dth November, 1883. 



The President commenced his address by making a compli- 

 mentary reference to the interesting historical sketch of the 

 rise and progress of the Society with which his respected pre- 

 decessor, Mr. R. L. Patterson, inaugurated his presidency. 

 He (the President) thought nothing could be more appropriate, 

 coming as it did from a gentleman the memory of whose father 

 they all honoured, he having been one of the original founders 

 and also one of the most vigorous supporters of the Association. 

 He (Dr. Cunningham) had chosen as his theme the " Extinct 

 Floras of the British Islands." In order clearly to understand 

 the relationship existing between the different extinct floras, it 

 was necessary to place before them the great sections into which 

 the rocks have been divided — Palaeozoic (primary), Mesozoic 

 (secondary), Kainozoic (tertiary), with their different divisions 

 into strata, beginning with the oldest, the Laurentian, and ending 

 with the Quaternary. The President pointed out that the 

 Laurentian are so called from extensive beds which had been 

 discovered near the St. Lawrence River, and that little of this 

 formation has been discovered in the British Islands. He also 



