THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



285 



interest which the more thoughtful of our 

 young people take in Natural Science, was 

 immediately shown by the great number of 

 letters which were received by Mr. H. H. 

 Ballard (its founder), in answer to the invita- 

 tion. Chapters (branches) of the A. A. were 

 organized in different towns, and where this 

 was impracticable, individuals joined the 

 Central Lenox Chapter as corresponding 

 members. So rapid has been the growth ot 

 the Association, owing to the wide spread in- 

 fluence of " St. Nicholas," that there were 

 in January, 1884, upwards of 547 Chapters 

 and more than 1000 members which is in- 

 creasi g more rapidly than ever. The work 

 is apparently only begun, and in a tew years, 

 it seems likely that they shall have more 

 than 10,000 active members. The A. A. was 

 originally started as a children's society, but, 

 to our great delight, parents and teachers 

 have taken as great an interest in it as the 

 younger ones, and the Lenox Chapter have 

 on their register the names of many fathers, 

 mothers, teachers and college professors, with- 

 out them it would be impossible to conduct so 

 large an organization. But by the aid o( their 

 advice, and wisdom, we are enabled to refer 

 nearly every question to some one in the 

 society, able and willing to answer all his 

 enquiries. 



Among the many branches of the A. A. is 

 the Montreal which was organized on January 

 4, 1883, with a membership of six which has 

 steadily increased and now numbers fourty-six 

 resident and eight corresponding and honorary 

 members. The branch is in possession of a 

 small library and museum but on account of 

 the difficulty in obtaining a hall in the munici- 

 pality of Cote St. Antoine (at which place the 

 Society is established), the collection had to be 

 stationed in a room which is far from accom- 

 modating, as a number of the members cannot 

 gain access to the library, the greater part of 

 the books are loaned and will not be circu- 

 lated, therefore the library must remain closed 

 to the members until some individual or indi- 

 viduals take compassion upon them and open 

 up a way whereby the Society and all its pos- 

 sessions may be accessible to the public, so 

 that the friends of the Association may see 

 what our young naturalists are doing. 



During the past year twenty-one regular 

 meetings have been held, at which twenty-nine 

 selections and three papers have been read. Two 

 lectures were held last spring to obtain funds 

 for the purchase of a cabinet, which met with 



great success, the Society netting al out f 



all of which has been absorbed in the purchase 

 of a large cabinet for the museum, and a l*>ok 

 case. A course of lectures is proposed for next 

 spring the proceeds to he devoted to reel 

 hall for the Society and also to tin- purchase 

 of books and specimens. 



Two field-days were held last summer on 

 Mount Royal, at which the members gathered 

 specimens and received prizes for the 

 collections, and from the number gathered it 

 showed plainly that the members were not 

 wanting in enthusiasm for the work. 



At the annual meeting the following oil 

 were installed fur the ensuing year : 



J. J. Proctor, president ; E. C Trenholme, 

 vice-president ; W. I). Shaw, sec-treasurer ; 

 Geo. Edwards, assistant-secretary, ami the 

 members for the different committees, viz. : 

 Zoology. — R. Mitchell, F. McCallum, J. 

 Smith. Botany. — A. Hutchison, W. Bonat, 

 A. Woodward. Geology. — J. Smith, A. 

 Murray, A. Hutchison. Entomology (extra). 

 —Geo. Edwaids, E. Trenholme and W. D. 

 Shaw. Conchology (extra). — E. Trenholme, 

 Geo. Edwards and H. Jemieson. 



In conclusion I might Bay that many boys 

 and girls, and not a tew men and women who 

 like little kittins, have never yet opened their 

 eyes to see the wonders of the earth, and some 

 of us, like babies when they first " find their 

 lingers " begin to catch at everything new 

 and strange. Likewise some of us are just 

 learning to see trunks of trees so as to recog- 

 nize their infinite variety of form and color ; 

 others have likely, it may be, seen lor the 

 first time tbe beauties of the sky with its ever- 

 shifrling miracles of white, blue and black, 

 while slowly upon all we trust, is breaking the 

 grand truth of a Divine mind expressing it- 

 thought in every leaf and pebble and u( a 

 Divine Heart showing its love in every rain- 

 drop and in every flower. This was the truth 

 which filled the great heart of him tor whom 

 the A. A, was named, — *his was the secret ot 

 his untiring zeal, and the key to his boundless 

 jove of nature. 



NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 

 LABRADOR. 



BY W. A. STEARNS. 



(Fishes, continued.) 

 Gadds ogac. Greenland Codtish. — Occasion- 

 ally, but rarely, taken in deep water off the 

 Labrador coast. Frequently taken within a 

 mile from shore along the northern part of 

 the coast, especially north of Belle Isle. 



