342 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



meteorological records for the past fifty years have, at the cost 

 of great labour, been so condensed, analysed and tabulated 

 that Ave may at a glance compare the climatic phenomena of 

 Guernsey with those of any other part of the globe. And 

 then, in addition to all this, our Transactions register a mass 

 of notes and memoranda, trivial it may be, and, taken alone, 

 of little importance, but all going to swell the sum total of 

 knowledge upon which the science of the future depends. It 

 is rarely the observer himself who can best judge of the 

 intrinsic value of the observation he records ; a fact which 

 appears to him a trifle may possibly prove years hence an 

 inestimable aid in the solution of some perplexing problem. 



And now, ladies and gentlemen, the question may be 

 asked, are we not rapidly exhausting our field of labour V Is 

 not the time approaching when there will be nothing left 

 to do, when every branch of science in this island will 

 have been completely worked out and done with ? In 

 a few more years shall Ave not come to a standstill, and 

 mournfully sigh like Alexander for neAv Avorlds to conquer ? 

 Oh, no ; emphatically, no. The more you do, the better you 

 will perceiAe Iioav much still remains to be done. The field of 

 original research is absolutely boundless and inexhaustible. 



But Avithout busying ourselves to consider what might 

 engage the attention of scientific men in the remote future, Ave 

 may profitably enquire Avhether there are matters that urgently 

 demand our immediate study to-day. In what sections of the 

 harvest field may our labourers be set to Avork with the great- 

 est advantage ? 



Well, the geology is in A r ery good hands. The Society 

 happily numbers among its members seAeral enthusiastic and 

 thoroughly competent geologists, well A r ersed in the local 

 aspects of the science, and they may safely be trusted not to 

 relinquish their labours in the investigation of the testimony 

 of the rocks. But in the rich domain of Archaeology I Avould 

 venture to point out one or two fresh lines of work Avhich 

 might be carried out Avith great benefit both to ourseh'es and 

 to others outside our oaah circle. 



First and foremost, I should like to have in our Trans- 

 actions a complete descriptiA^e catalogue of all our prehistoric 

 remains, classified under the different heads of cromlechs, 

 menhirs, inscribed stones, and so on, giving accurate measure- 

 ments, bearings and other details, so as to be aA r ailable for 

 ready reference in the study. The precise situation of these 

 ancient monuments should, of course, be clearly described, so 

 as to render it easy for a stranger to find any given one with- 



