of health. It was a great disappointment to the Society, and to him, 

 when Doctor's orders absolutely forbade him to continue in office. We 

 are fortunate in being able to welcome Mr. J. T. Drew as his successor. 



The many friends of Mr. John Gilbertson, a former science master 

 at the Harvey Grammar School and past Treasurer of the Society, were 

 grieved to hear of his sudden death at an early age. He was a man of 

 whom a distinguished career could confidently have been predicted 

 and his untimely passing is a great loss to education. 



Miss W. Hodges has had to give up the office of Botanical Secretary, 

 for health reasons. She has revived the Botanical Section and we are 

 grateful to her for all her hard work for the Society. Botanical rambles 

 have been well attended. Miss G. Meanwell has kindly taken up the 

 Section Secretaryship. 



As lanternist, Mr. A. Howard's keenness and persistence overcame 

 the difficulty of unfamiliarity and the vagaries of a temperamental lantern. 

 We are glad to report that improvements have been made to the lantern 

 which should give excellent projection and make things easier for the 

 lanternist. It was with pleasure that the Society was able to instal a new 

 screen, provided by the John Walton Memorial Fund. 



Lectures of unusual interest were Mr. Maxwell Knight's talk on 

 Birds and their Spring Behaviour ; a very clear and informative docu- 

 mentary film, with a talk on the Coalfields of Southern England, by Mr. 

 A. Maries of the National Coal Board ; Mr. L. Thompson's lecture on 

 Locust Control, accompanied by live locusts ; Mr. T. Sedgwick's 

 admirable film of his travels in America, showing just those details of 

 the countryside and of the lives of ordinary people about which we so 

 much wanted to know ; and Professor Allen's remarkable lecture about 

 the recent discovery of the vegetable origin of chalk, revealed by the 

 electronic microscope. The attendance, which was not as good as usual 

 at the beginning of the season, amply improved during the second half, 

 even during the bitterly cold spell in February, and on several occasions 

 we had a full house, notably during the joint meeting with the Historical 

 Association, when Mr. R. Goodsall showed some very fine slides on 

 " Colour in Kent in Nature and History." 



The exhibits at the Conversazione were rather fewer than last year, 

 but were pronounced to be superior in quality and easier to study. The 

 visitors certainly increased in quantity — better to say, in numbers, 

 perhaps, to avoid misunderstanding. Mrs. D. Harris again gave her 

 spinning demonstration in response to many requests. Among the 

 visitors were the Mayor and Mayoress and their daughter who stayed 

 a pleasantly long time. 



The Society's outstanding achievement was the Everest Lecture 

 arranged for the public with the co-operation of the town and the Royal 

 Geographical Society. The Leas Cliff Hall was packed to hear George 



