14G 
president’s address. 
members enrolled iu our ranks. In Mr. Edward Field, who died 
on February 14th, 188G, we have to regret the loss of a citizen full 
of years and honours, who also took considerable interest in the 
progress of our Society, and frequently joined our summer 
excursions, as did also Mrs. Fitch (the wife of our old and esteemed 
member Mr. Eobert Fitch), who died August 10th, 1885. Mrs. 
Fitch, however, evinced the greatest interest in the arclneological 
and palaiontological pursuits with which her husband’s name has 
for so many years been honourably connected. 
I need not enumerate the papers which will be published in the 
‘ Transactions,’ but will refer in the briefest possible terms to a few 
others which have been read at our evening meetings. 
In April, Mr. Southwell exhibited some Horfolk specimens or 
the Edible Frog, and called attention to a very interesting paper by 
M. Eoulenger, in which the latter shows that the race of Edible 
Frogs found in this county does not belong, as might have been 
expected, to the Belgian form, but to that now found in Italy. 
At the meeting iir May the Eev. E. F. Linton read a list of 
rare plants observed by him near Wells. 
At the first autumn meeting Mr. Southwell exhibited and made 
some remarks on a living specimen of the Eat, known as Mas 
alexcuidrinus, several of which had been taken by Mr. Edward 
Bidwell, in Lower Thames Street. He also showed for comparison 
two specimens of the old English Black Eat {Mus rattan), which 
had been killed at Stockton-on-Tees in the year 1876. The little 
animal exhibited was about half-grown, and a very pretty creature, 
almost black above and dark grey on the under parts, its long tail 
tqiped with whitd, and its feet flesh-coloured. 
At the October meeting Mr. Stevenson read a paper on four 
rare birds from the collection of the late Mr. Eising, of Horsey, 
all killed in this county, which have been presented to the 
Norwich Museum, comiirising the Buffel-headed Duck, the Eed- 
crested Whistling Duck, the American Brown Snipe, and the 
Black Stork. 
In November, the Eev. E. F. Linton road a ])aper on Marhjnia 
prohoncidea, a South American plant wliich he had raised from 
