258 president's address. 



existence of the Field Club he has been elected a member of the 

 Committee, and in one of the two remaining years, viz., in 1850, 

 he had the honour of being appointed a Yice-President. He cor- 

 responded from time to time with many of the leading botanists 

 of the day, among others with Sir "W. J. Hooker, "Wilson, Eorrer, 

 and Babington, and the two last named, when they were in the 

 North, visited him for the purpose of obtaining information re- 

 specting some of the rare plants of Northumberland. With the 

 death of Mr. John Thompson, a long familiar, pleasant, honest, 

 homely face will be missed from among us ; the face of one who 

 made us honour him because he did honour to himself by turning 

 to good account the talents which God had given him — 



" Not chance of birth or place has made us friends, 

 Being oftentimes of different tongues and nations, 



But the endeavour for the selfsame ends, 



With the same hopes, and fears, and aspirations." 



Enough of the past. It is time that I spoke of the present, 

 and made known to you the amount of Natural History and 

 Archa3ological work on which our members have been during the 

 last year engaged, or which they are at the present time carry- 

 ing on. In doing this I shall not allude to anything which has 

 been read at our own Meetings, or has been printed in our Trans- 

 actions, but only those works, memoirs, and papers which are at 

 the present time in preparation, or have been recently brought 

 out either as separate volumes, or in the transactions and proceed- 

 ings of the various learned and scientific societies of Great Britain. 

 It must be borne in mind, that any paper which does not strictly 

 and exclusively refer to the Natural History or Archaeology of 

 the area comprised in the operation of the Field Club, has usually 

 been considered inadmissible for publication in its Transactions. 

 The bulk, therefore, and the more important part of the writings 

 of our members, are necessarily sent elsewhere ; and it is only by 

 examining what these writings have been that we can become 

 cognisant of the extent of real and substantial work in the cause 

 of science, which is now being done in the North of England. 



Mr. Alder has been actively engaged in the preparation of the 

 work upon British Tunicata, which he has undertaken to write 



