4 
ATTNALS OF THE 
advantages ; some have not the same direct appeal to commerce ; some may be as 
•well pursued in other countries as in Canada, and thus do not present the same at- 
traction to the Canadian resident, who desires to extend the sphere of knowledge. 
An Astronomical Society, for example, would not have the peculiar advantages of 
a Botanical Society in a country like this. Referring to the large attendance, and 
the interest manifested in the object of the meeting, the chairman alluded to the 
early history of the scientific societies in older countries. The Royal Society of 
London and other leading scientific institutions in Europe began at an early period, 
under humble auspices and with unambitious objects. They gradually increased as 
science progressed and a taste for it was diffused; and so it will be with the Bo- 
tanical Society, if we do not at the first attempt too much. It may be said that 
now is scarcely the time to commence a Botanical Society, that the country is not 
yet far enough advanced, that botany is not sufficiently studied, to warrant the es- 
tablishment of a Botanical Society. It is true that botany has been neglected in 
this country. "While this is a reproach to Canada, it affords no reason why a so- 
ciety should not be established. On the contrary, it is a strong reason why an at- 
tempt should be made to form one. There is a patriotic feeling rising up in Canada, 
which is especially strong in the youth of the province, and every well-wisher of 
Canada must be delighted to see it. Here then is an opportunity, by the estab- 
lishment of this Society, to wipe off a reproach that has long hung over the coun- 
try, by prosecuting a path of research that has been neglected. The proper method, 
then, is to begin early, to engage in the work, and the Society will progress, in- 
creasing not only our botanical knowledge, but fostering the taste for its study. 
Thus, as the science progresses among us, the Society will extend, so that we may 
hope in time to see the germ which we this evening cast into the soil grow up into 
a goodly tree, spreading its branches over the length and breadth of Canada, which 
is yet destined to be a great country. 
REMARKS ON THE PRESENT STATE OF BOTANY IN CANADA, AND 
THE OBJECTS TO BE ATTAINED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT 
OF A BOTANICAL SOCIETY. 
By George Lawson, PhD., F. B. S. E., Professor of Chemistry and Natural 
History in the University of Queen's College. 
Dr. Lawson pointed out the peculiar sphere in which the botanist is called to 
labor, the range of his studies, and the means required for their pursuit. It is of 
great importance (he said) that at the outset the real object of our proposed So- 
ciety should be understood. The establishment of a Botanical Garden, and other 
appliances, must be regarded as secondary to the great object of the Society, the 
prosecution of scientific botany. Botany is at a low ebb in Canada, at a lower ebb 
