8 A1?NIVEESAEY ADDRESS. 



and text-books put us in possession of the leading facts and 

 conclusions, but our magazines and journals are ever increasing 

 tbe number of facts and of observers." 



"And after all, the high- water-mark of thought (as Professor 

 Huxley puts it) consists in dealing with educational, scientific, 

 and philosophical subjects in a broad, general, and interesting 

 way, so that one may get out of the groove in which one's 

 special work lies, and afibrd time for the consideration of subjects 

 the outcome of special work in all departments of science." 

 [Greological Progress, Geological Magazine, January, 1876.] 



I would illustrate this by the volume to which I now refer. It 

 is the first of a series, intended to be annual, — a Catalogue with 

 short abstracts of works on Geology, Mineralogy, and Palaeon- 

 tology, published during any given year.* It was undertaken by 

 gentlemen who have long felt the necessity of a record of the 

 kind. This, the first volume, gives a list of publications on the 

 subjects named during the year 1874, and it occupies 378 closely 

 printed pages, together with an index of 19 pages more, each 

 page arranged in three columns, each of which gives forty or 

 fifty distinct articles. Even this, however, is hardly sufilcient to 

 embrace everything that was written in 1S74, and gives no room 

 for any works preceding that date. 



Such then being the case, the members of our Society require 

 the advantages to be found in a good library of scientific and 

 philosophical works ; and the Council have been endeavouring to 

 supply it partially by allowing the sum of £30 for the purchase 

 of periodicals. We need, however, more than this small expen- 

 diture. If the Government would contribute somewhat liberally 

 for the purpose of starting and supporting a library of such scien- 

 tific works as our Society requires, it would serve a double 

 purpose ; it would enable us to turn its patronage to good 

 account, and would also be a strong argument for the Incor- 

 poration before suggested. 



* "Geological Eecorcl "—edited by William Whitaker, B.A., F.a.S., of the 

 Q-eological Survey of England. 



