82 MEETINGS. 



our sections. I am sure that you all have been impressed 

 very favourably by the reports ; that you have noticed that 

 the Botanical Section, under its leaders, Miss Dawber and 

 Mr. Royle, has largely advanced its work, and this so tho- 

 roughly and well that it is not likely that future generations 

 will find the disadvantages which we certainly feel from the 

 want of correct methods in the collectors who have gone before. 



" I regret that as yet the indefatigable Entomological 

 Secretary stands alone in his section. Not, indeed, that 

 Mr. Luff needs help, for he is a host in himself, and will, no 

 doubt, succeed in completing his lists of insects without help, 

 but because it is not wise that the work he has so ably accom- 

 plished should rest entirely on one life for completion. Surely 

 in this, as well as in other subjects, we shall be able to induce 

 a desire to study. 



" Our Geological Secretary, Mr. De La Mare, is always 

 at work, and his report has shown you that sectional work has 

 not always depended on formal sectional meetings. 



" Of the excursions I must not say much, but I cannot 

 help speaking of the pleasant outings which are, as it were, a 

 source of life and energy to the Society. I hope very sincerely 

 that these will not be allowed to fall off. They can be encou- 

 raged even by uninterested members and by outsiders, for they 

 afford opportunities for visits to places of interest and objects 

 for outings which can but benefit both mind and body. 



" And this brings me to the main portion of my address, 

 for it is the information obtained at the excursions which 

 gives me my topic. 



" A part of the work of the Geological Section, and an 

 important part too, has been the examination of the peat beds 

 which surround the island. One fact has been prominently 

 brought to our notice, that is that these beds may not all be of 

 one period. It has been very common for us to speak of them 

 as though they were, but when we come to work them under 

 better conditions we shall find, I doubt not, that at least three 

 separate periods are indicated. The elevations taken by 

 Mr. Carey go to prove that the most recent of these beds, 

 which underlie the marshy land of our west coast, are several 

 feet above the beds which are exposed on the actual shore, 

 and we have also reason to suppose that low down in the bays 

 of l'Ancresse, Vazon and Cobo exist distinct beds in positions 

 which prevent our placing them on the same geological 

 horizon. Our study proves that the beds on the beaches are 

 quite horizontal and that the exposed portions are the terminal 

 outcrops, thinned and worn away by the friction of the 



