— 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 7 
No. 50—On the Occurrence of Precious Stones in New 
South Wales with a description of the Deposits 
in which they are found. 
No. 51—On the effect of the Australian Climate on the 
Physical Development of the Australian-born 
Population. 
Series XVI.—T7o be sent in not later than the Ist May, 1897. 
No. 52—On the Embryology and Development of the 
Echidna or Platypus. 
No. 53—The Chemical Composition of the Products from 
the so-called Kerosene Shale of New South Wales. 
No. 54—On the Mode of Occurrence, Chemical Composition, 
and the Origin of Artesian Water in New South 
Wales. 
Abercromby Fund.—The prize of £25 offered by the Hon. 
Ralph Abercromby for the best essay on “Southerly Busters” 
was awarded by the Committee to Mr. Henry A. Hunt, Second 
Meteorological Assistant, Sydney Observatory. 
During the past year considerable activity in the pursuit of 
knowledge has been exhibited. Much of the work done has 
been reported in the Journal by our Society, and in the pro- 
ceedings of the Linnean Society. The following particulars are 
appended, but the list does not profess to be complete, as some 
difficulty has been experienced in obtaining information. 
In the observatory the regular astronomical and meteorological 
work has been fully maintained, owing to the increased sensi- 
tiveness of the plates now used, which make it possible now to 
do in one minute what used to take eight minutes, when this 
_ Work was begun in 1890, thus virtually increasing the size of 
the camera eight times. One thousand one hundred and forty 
Photographs of astronomical objects have been taken. Nine 
hundred and forty-six of these were devoted to the photographic 
Survey of the heavens, and complete the Sydney section of that 
work for catalogue purposes. Seventy-nine photographs have 
been devoted with very satisfactory results to the investigation 
