president's address. 117 



fibrous flexible variety is to be found here. Kev. Hill in his 

 paper on " Mica Trap Dykes in the Channel Islands," in 1891, 

 says, " among the many interesting lines of investigation there 

 is the study of dykes and smaller igneous intrusions, especially 

 in regard to their ages, relative and actual. The investigation 

 may possibly lead to valuable scientific results. In England 

 there have been many outflows of igneous matter down even to 

 tertiary times. At present there is no evidence of such action 

 in Guernsey or Jersey posterior to the Carboniferous age. 

 But if any dyke could be discovered which should traverse or 

 pierce one of these mica traps it must be itself of post- 

 carboniferous age, and would afford an evidence of a later 

 disturbance. And thus it becomes of much interest to discover, 

 enumerate, and closely examine all these Mica Trap Dykes of 

 the Channel Isles." 



Some work has been done in this direction, without, it is 

 true, finding evidence of such recent disturbance, but it seems 

 to me this is a line of enquiry we must not forget in the future. 



Ornithology again has received but scant attention from 

 us as a Society ; a carefully drawn-up list of our feathered 

 friends — both resident and occasional visitors — should be 

 compiled, together with notes on the time of their arrival and 

 departure. Occasional facts have from time to time been 

 recorded, but these want to appear in a collected form. 



Again, it seems desirable that strictly local names (not 

 merely the French translation of the English ones) of plants, 

 birds, insects, &c, should be compiled. Mr. Marquand has 

 done this in some cases for the flora, but that is all. To do 

 this will, I apprehend, be a work of some difficulty, and will 

 need to be undertaken by those conversant with the patois as 

 well as French and English ; but such a list would be of great 

 interest and value, for there is but little doubt that the use of 

 the patois will decrease as time goes on, and the difficulty of 

 obtaining such information will be materially increased. 



I see in the Report of His Majesty's Inspector who lately 

 visited the Guernsey Schools that " Nature Study " is a thing 

 unknown in the Island Schools, and that he recommends its 

 introduction in the School curriculum. 



In the hands of capable and enthusiastic teachers what 

 may we not expect ? Surely the rising generation will take 

 more interest in the wonders of Nature around them, and a 

 spirit of enquiry be aroused which never existed before here. 

 May we not then with advantage repeat the experiment we made 

 some years ago (with but scant success then) of offering prizes 

 to school children for the best collection of natural objects. 



B 



