Anniversary Address. 259 



Northumberland, for so courteously throwing open their 

 splendid mansions, gardens, museums, and policies for the 

 inspection of the members of our club. The rare and costly- 

 nature of the property at these princely places, enhances the 

 value of the privilege which was accorded to us, and which I 

 am sure was thoroughly appreciated by every member who 

 availed himself of it. 



3rd. "Would it not be a great advantage v^^ere ladies to be 

 admitted as ordinary members of the club ? At our Alnwick 

 meeting, we had the pleasure of seeing several ladies, at 

 breakfast and at dinner, as well as during the excursions of 

 the day, taking especial interest in our proceedings. When 

 at Manchester a few weeks ago, attending the meeting of 

 the British Association, I was struck with the fact, that at 

 every one of the sections, even during the driest scientific 

 discussions, ladies formed a large proportion of the audience, 

 and at one of the sections a paper was read, of which a lady 

 was the author. The soirees showed the ladies to form al- 

 ways a decided majority. One of these evening meetings was 

 at the invitation and under the auspices of the Manchester 

 Field Naturalists' Club, a society which devotes itself to the 

 pursuit chiefly of Botany and Entomology. This society by 

 its rules allows ladies to join it as ordinary members ; and it 

 appears that about one fourth of its whole members consists 

 of ladies, — the wives, sisters, or daughters of the gentlemen 

 members of the club. Now I do not suppose that the tastes 

 and qualifications of the Lancashire ladies as members of a 

 naturalist club, are superior to those in our own Border dis- 

 trict. I know several ladies in my own county who would 

 gladly join our club, on account of some of the objects which 

 our club encourages. The claims of the fair sex to cooperate 

 with us in these objects, our club has already so far recognised, 

 as to have admitted three ladies to be Honorary members, and 

 received from them communications, which have been pub- 

 lished in our transactions. I suggest that the club should 

 go only one step further, and admit ladies to become or- 

 dinary members. I feel assured that the popularity and 



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