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CHAPTER XVII. 
» 
THE LAST DECADE. 
The history and proceedings of the Society during tlie past 
ten years must be fresli in the memories of many of its mem- 
bers, and if this account were intended only for those, it might 
well be drawn to a close, but as, doubtless, it will reach the hands of 
others who have not the benefit of this experience, it is proposed, as 
briefly as may be consistent with the importance of the subjects, to 
give an indication of the work it has done, and the papers its 
members have contributed. With the exception of the first ten years 
of the existence of the Society, the last have been the most important. 
It has grown in wealth, not only financially, but also in the size and 
(quality of its proceedings. Previous to 1870, the latter were largely 
composed of papers on anticpiarian and archaeological subjects, but 
after the institution of the Yorkshire Archa3ological and Topographical 
Society, of which the late Mr. Fairless Barber, F.S. A., w^as the honorary 
secretary, these subjects were eliminated, and the authors transferred 
the result of their investigations to the new Society. The death of 
Mr. Denny about the same time resulted in a period of comparative 
quietude for this Society, and it was not until the action of Professor 
Miall, along with Mr. Thomas AVilson and others, infused new life 
into the Society, tliat it resumed its former state of activity. Since 
that time it has flourished, and its proceedings have been more purely 
geological than at any previous period. It w^ill be gathered from 
succeeding pages that several excursions have been made and a 
considerable amount of field work done. In two instances, special 
investigations, involving considerable outlay, have been prosecuted. 
The papers contributed to its proceedings have not only treated on 
isolated subjects, but in some instances have acquired an increased 
