lii Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 



somehow or other, by means of his subscription, helping on the 

 cause of science. At lengthy intervals he receives, it is true, a 

 volume of the Society's Transactions ; but unless he happens to 

 have a specialty, and that specialty be also the hobby of the author 

 whose paper fills the volume, he is bound to find the whole thing 

 about as dry as the proverbial Sunday-school prize. Now what I 

 would suggest for consideration is that we do as other societies have 

 done which have been brought face to face with the like difficulties, 

 viz., publish the Proceedings at regular intervals, say monthly or 

 every two months, making the papers read at our meetings the 

 mainstay of each part, but also including other notes on South 

 African science, and pertinent excerpts from other scientific jour- 

 nals. The working member could in this way be more easily 

 satisfied, the country member would have a better chance of 

 receiving what he considers value for his money, and the yearly 

 volume so produced would practically contain all that was worth 

 preserving in South African science for the period covered, and 

 would therefore supply interesting reading to every subscriber, even 

 the veriest scientific novice. All that is done at present would still 

 be done, but there would also be something additional and better. 

 Further, there would be no financial risk in the venture, as the cost 

 would practically remain as before, and the income would almost 

 certainly be increased. To preserve continuity in title as far as 

 possible, let the publication be named The South African Philo- 

 sophical Magazine, and to ensure that all branches of science be 

 fairly represented, let there be an editor-in-chief and an editorial 

 staff, consisting of a specialist for each branch. Such a magazine 

 would be read in places where our present Transactions are never 

 seen, and would thus give a new impetus not only to the Society, 

 but to South African science itself. I may add that no society 

 which has made a similiar change has, so far as is known to me, 

 ever regretted it or gone back to its old irregular ways. 



Ladies and gentlemen, in taking leave of the presidential chair, 

 I desire to remind you that as a busy man I accepted it with the 

 greatest possible reluctance, and to assure you of my real regret 

 that I have accomplished so little, and have had to content myself 

 to so large an extent with merely pointing out possible paths of 

 progress for the future. 



