202 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



gallant sailor that he is, stepped into the breach, and 

 became our Interim Organizing Secretary. With what 

 complete success he has canied out the duties during 

 the past season is now a matter of history. I have had 

 the good fortune to be present at all the meetings, with 

 the exception of the one at Peebles, and the extra one 

 to the Fame Islands. The weather has favoured us, and 

 some of the finest days of this somewhat disappointing 

 season were those on which the Club held its meetings. 

 A full report of these will in due course be supplied by 

 our able Editing Secretary, Mr Butler. 



I must confess I have found considerable difficult}'^ in 

 selecting a subject that might not be wholly uninteresting 

 to you, and within my capabilities. In looking over 

 bygone addresses of my predecessors in office, the subjects 

 available and undealt with seemed gradually to be reduced 

 to the vanishing point. Protective mimicry in the insect 

 world is an intensely interesting subject, but to deal 

 adequately with it would take us into far lands, and is 

 to that extent outside the more limited area of oui- 

 functions as a Club. The short visit the Club did me 

 the honour to pay to Smeaton on the occasion of their 

 expedition to the Bass Rock, suggested that, perhaps, 

 without appearing egotistical, a short statement of some 

 of the chief points of interest at Smeaton might not be 

 inappropriate, the more so that no notice has ever ap]>eared 

 in print. 



The two subjects I should like to dwell on for a short 

 time to-day are the lake and the various species of coniferse 

 as they at present exist. For most of the details I am 

 indebted to my father's journal of 1830, and later years. 

 The pleasure grounds and policies were practically created 

 by him, and the ornamental planting carried out under 

 his direction. The lake, as it at present exists, is half 

 a mile round, runs nearly due east and west, and occupies 

 the site of an ancient bog. It contained more or less 

 open water at its east end. A steep cliff rises on its 



