president's address. 25 



Hall, near South Shields, who died at his residence on April 14, 

 1877, at the age of seventy-six years. Mr. Fell was elected a 

 member of the Club in the year 1860, and was a frequent at- 

 tender at the Field and Evening Meetings. Mr. Fell was an 

 ardent naturalist, a great admirer of J^ature's beauties, and 

 happy in anecdote. Although Mr. Fell had not communicated 

 any papers, yet he was more than once a Yice President, and 

 was ever zealous in aiding the advancement of the Club. 



Part III. of the Illustrated Catalogue of Eemarkable Trees 

 contains six photographs, and of these one would appear parti- 

 cularly to call for special remark, namely, that depicting dead 

 trees at "Washington. The viewing of this is sad to contemplate, 

 and brings with it a feeling of distress and commiseration. For, 

 if plants and trees languish and die from vitiation of the atmos- 

 phere, so must animals, and most assuredly the highest of all 

 living beings, man. 



The tree that is scathed seldom blossoms anew ! 



The beauty of field and of fell are murdered with poison fumes. 

 Even down the course of our own Eiver Tyne vegetation has 

 become blasted, and the green branches of trees have become con- 

 verted into gaunt black spectre arms mournfully waving over 

 the grave of the grass and the hedgerow blossom. If it can be 

 shown that such sins against the spirit of loveliness are costly, 

 that the death of shrub and of flower, the spoliation of beck and 

 of dene, cost money, then the words of the despised prophet of 

 restheticism will be listened to with attention, and a little more 

 light will be shed upon the marvellous correlation which links 

 man and his works with jN^ature and hers. As a prelude to this, 

 let us hope that the appointment of the Royal Commission re- 

 specting noxious fumes from works and factories may prove the 

 first step. This Commission has been appointed to inquire into 

 the working and the management of works and manufactories 

 from which sulphurous acid, sulphuretted liydrogen, and ammo- 

 niacal or other vapours and gases are given off. The Commis- 

 sioners are to ascertain the effect produced by these emanations 

 on animal and vegetable life, and are to report on the means to 

 bo adopted for the prevention of injury in such cases. The 



