of Edinburgh, Session 1884-85. 
351 
11. Concluding Address by David Milne Home, 
Vice-President. 
At this, the concluding meeting of the Session, some observations 
and information are expected from the Chairman for the night, and 
which I now, at the request of the Council, proceed to offer. 
During the past Session there have been sixteen ordinary meet- 
ings of the Society for the reading of papers, which may be classed 
under the following heads: — 22 in Natural Philosophy, 11 in 
Chemistry, 10 in Mathematics, 7 in Physiology, 6 in Meteorology, 
4 in Zoology, 3 in Mineralogy, 3 in Geology, 1 in Anthropology, 
1 in Astronomy, and 1 in Mechanics. 
The total number of papers is 72, being two more than the 
average of the last two years. 
It will be observed, that all these papers are on branches of 
Physical Science. There have been none of a literary character — 
though literature is one of the objects which our Society was 
intended to encourage — and though Lord Moncreiff, till lately our 
President, has more than once, from this Chair, expressed a wish 
and a hope that there would be contributions to our meetings under 
that head also. 
But this object, I fear, it is difficult to accomplish. The dis- 
coveries and speculations of a scientific nature are now so important 
and so urgent, that they crowd in upon every Society which will 
admit them ; whilst, on the other hand, speculations in mental 
philosophy come before the public more readily, and perhaps more 
suitably, through the columns of innumerable magazines, journals, 
reviews, and newspapers, published monthly, weekly, or daily. 
I see from looking at some of the addresses delivered from this 
Chair at the close of a Session, that it has occasionally been the 
practice to express an opinion regarding the merits of the papers 
read. I shrink from following that practice, first, because of not 
having heard any of the papers ; and, more particularly, because 
I frankly avow my incompetence to form an opinion on three-fourths 
of the papers, judging from their titles. But in our Society there 
is some guarantee that any papers by Fellows of our Society shall 
not be unworthy of it, because we admit no person to become a 
