ANNUAL MEETING 



of the 



Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 



May 15, 1908. 



At the Annual Meeting of the Buffalo Society of Natural 

 Sciences held May 15th, 1908, at which, in the absence of the 

 President, Dr. Lee H. Smith, first Vice-President presided, the 

 address of the President, Hon. T. Guilford Smith, LL. D. was 

 read and was in part as follows : 



"The year just closing marks an era in the history of this 

 Society. The death in 1906 of the widow of the late Dr. George 

 E. Hayes led to the division of that portion of his estate which 

 was payable to his daughter Mrs. Charles H. Smith and our- 

 selves as the two residuary legatees under his will. Through 

 the efforts of Mr. Charles D. Marshall, Treasurer, whose recent 

 death it is my sorrowful duty to mention, and of his colleagues 

 the other Commissioners of the Permanent Fund, a satisfactory 

 agreement and settlement was effected with the Executors of 

 Dr. Hayes' estate and with their legal advisers and a division of 

 the properties and securities effected as between ourselves and 

 the other legatee, so excellently arranged that both parties were 

 fully satisfied with the fairness of the arrangement. It is, how- 

 ever, proper to state that a considerable portion of this property 

 is not at present income producing, although in time it is hoped 

 it may become so. The amount of available income being thus 

 limited, it is of the utmost importance that we so increase our 

 sustaining membership that we may be enabled to continue the 

 work we have begun. The need for this is emphasized by the 

 fact that anticipating the provisions of Dr. Hayes' bequest, 

 which was to provide free instruction in natural science, we 

 began this Hayes School work in 1905 by employing a lecturer 

 and arranging with the Superintendent of Public Instruction to 

 have the grammar school children of this city come here for 



