﻿Proceedings of the Society. 



79 



How much knowledge is acquired by the copying of names of 

 which every letter must be separately inspected before it can be 

 written, these copyists alone can say, but it certainly seems to be 

 but little. Undoubtedly some of the gatherers of fragments are 

 able to tell something more than the name of their specimens, and 

 all such should be credited with a desire to learn ; too often, however, 

 the matter stops when the specimen's name has been secured, and 

 then it reposes in quiet and dust on some shelf in an obscure corner, 

 * till thrown away as rubbish, or until resurrected to again form part 

 of the collection of some future aspirant for High School honors. 

 The number of visitors has not been great during the year, an 

 average of about one dozen or so a day, but there is an increase 

 over last year, and all the signs of a steady growth and an additional 

 interest on the part of the citizens as they come to know more and 

 more of the existence of the Society. 



The Course of Free Lectures which was given this year has been 

 as successful as in former years, although bad weather prevented 

 as good an attendance as would have been gratifying. The follow- 

 ing are the names of the lecturers, and the titles of their several 

 lecturer : 



Prof. W. L. Dudley, " Water Crystallization. " 



Dr. W. A. Dun, ''A Series of Magic Lantern Pictures." 



Prof. John W. Hall, Jr., "Gems and Minerals." 



Col. J. W. Abert, "Nature in Art." 



Prof. Jos. F. James, "The Ancient Vegetation of the Earth." 

 Gov. J. D. Cox, u Diatoms." 



Mr. S. S. Bassler, " Weather Changes ; How Caused , How Fore- 

 seen." 



Mr. W. H, Knight, ''Meteorites, Shooting Stars and Comets. 

 Dr. W. A. Dun, "Scientific Value of Arctic Expeditions." 

 Mr. Chas. Dury, "An Hour with Birds." 



There can be but little question that the lectures of the character 

 of those given by this Society during the past three years are impor- 

 tant features of its work. They have served and will serve to bring 

 the Society before the public, and enlighten them in regard to 

 what is going on in their midst. The attention the lectures attract 

 could be made even more widely extended than it is, and it would 



