1870.] 311 [Amiual Report. 



The Earth We Live On, by Mr. William T. Brigham — had 

 an average attendance of one hundred and ninety eight per- 

 sons. A third course, consisting of four lectures by Mr. 

 Francis G. Sanborn, is still in progress, and is entitled Famil- 

 iar Talks upon Insects ; the attendance thus far has averaged 

 sixty two. On the second evening of Mr. Brigham's course 

 there was an attendance of two hundred and sixty five per- 

 sons, the largest number present at any one lecture. 



A few figures will show the constantly increasing success 

 of our experiment in introducing lectures as a part of our 

 system of popular instruction. During the first year, the au- 

 diences averaged 56 ; during the second, 73 ; and during the 

 third, or past year, 127. Lectures given by the same person, 

 on different topics, have had, in one case, an increasing aver- 

 age audience of from about 40 to 75 ; and in another from 

 100 to 198 — or, if we look at the subjects alone, the attend- 

 ance on our zoological lectures has nearly doubled, on our 

 botanical courses has risen from 68 to 100, on our geological 

 from 66 to 198, and on our short courses devoted to special 

 subjects from 12 to 62. Yet no systematic plan has been 

 adopted by the Council to further this mode of imparting 

 information. The lecturers have ordinarily been selected 

 shortly before the delivery of their courses, and bu\t brief 

 announcement given to the public of the Society's inten- 

 tions. Surely, with a definite system, with lecturers chosen 

 deliberately and seasonably and with the programme of the 

 courses announced early in the autumn, we could not fail to 

 interest and instruct a much larger class than any to which 

 we now have access. 



Of our publications there is little to be said. The present 

 number of subscribers to our Memoirs is 130, to our Pro- 

 ceedings, 183. A large number of Memoirs await the 

 resumption of our quarto publications, which, for economy's 

 sake, have been temporarily suspended ; a further postpone- 

 ment of activity in this department cannot fail to be disas- 



