PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 21 



Marine Biological Station.— It may be within the recol- 

 lection of some members that in the time of the late M. 

 Miklouho Maclay there was a marine biological station in 

 Port Jackson. After Maclay's death the station was dis- 

 mantled, and the funds have been lying at interest all these 

 years. Some time ago I joined in a deputation to the 

 Government, asking for a supplement to these funds, in 

 order that the station might be set going again, but since 

 that time nothing has been done so far as I have heard. I 

 think that the members of this Society might now look into 

 the matter and see whether or not something practical 

 might be accomplished. In other parts of the world such 

 institutions have rendered the greatest service, and the 

 waters of this harbour offer splendid opportunities for the 

 samehere. In combination with the work of the Fisheries 

 Commissioners, and in conjunction with the Biological 

 Department of the University, we might receive from the 

 station important contributions to our knowledge of the 

 food fishes. The money value of the fishing industry is 

 enormous. £400,000 is spent per annum by the Common- 

 wealth on imported fish, much of which could easily be 

 replaced by our own fish, for it is easy in many cases to 

 make fish so plentiful by artificial culture that every fisher- 

 man can take all he wants, and this is a better state of 

 matters than the vain endeavour to enforce a code of pro- 

 tective laws. 



Co-ordination of Libraries.— Soon after my arrival in 

 Sydney, now, alas ! nearly a quarter of a century ago, I was 

 impressed with the incomplete state of the collections of 

 books in Sydney. To remedy this state of matters, 

 various institutions at my suggestion combined to 

 defray the cost of a catalogue of serial literature 

 in Sydney, and this was published under my direction 

 in February, 1889. This showed that some 900 serials 

 were catalogued, but far and away the greater part 



