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the early part of the present century, possibly he said in 1830, that 
having been a most disastrous year to this fishery. I have given 
a particular outline of this paper as it is too long for publication in 
our transactions. 
At the November meeting Mr. Southwell read his second paper, 
the subject of which was the recent forms of the order Sirenia, a 
curious and little known group of animals restricted to two living 
genera, Manat us and Halicore, and one genus recently extinct 
known as Rhytina ; this very interesting paper has since appeared 
in another publication. 
In May the Secretary read some extracts from the journal of that 
very excellent naturalist, Robert Marsham, Esq., F.lt.S., giving an 
account of the severe winter of 1739-40, being his own experience 
and that of his friend Mr. Partridge of London ; for these extracts, 
(which will be found printed in our Transactions, and are of very 
great interest) we are greatly indebted to the Rev. H. P. Marsham 
of Stratton : to that gentleman, however, we owe a still deeper debt 
of gratitude for placing at our disposal ten unpublished letters, 
written by Gilbert White of Selborne, to his great grandfather 
the Robert Marsham before referred to : these letters will also be 
printed in the Transactions illustrated by an autotype facsimile 
of the Author’s writing and signature; they are written in the 
delightfully discursive style which rendered Gilbert White so 
deservedly popular. I need not refer to their contents more than 
to call attention to the fact that Mr. Marsham obtained at 
Stratton a bird ( Tichodroma muraria ) not known to have been 
before observed in this country : Gilbert White’s remark that 
Mr. Marsham would “have the satisfaction of introducing a new 
bird of which future ornithologists will say — found at Stratton in 
Norfolk by that painful and accurate naturalist, Robert Marsham, 
Esq.,” after an interval of 82 years will at length be fulfilled. 
To Professor Pell, now the occupant of White’s house and the 
diligent collector of every memorial of him, we are under the great 
obligation of receiving copies of Marsham ’s letters to White, thus 
enabling us to complete the correspondence of the two eminent 
naturalists. For the notes accompanying the letters we are indebted 
to Mr. J. E. Karting and Professor Newton. 
