^^JDDHESS. 
Read hij the President, Sir Peter Eade, M.D., F.R.C.P., to the 
Members of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, at 
their Eiyhteenth Annual Meetiny, held at the Norfolk and 
Norwich Museum, March '20th, 1887. 
Ladies and Gentlemen — Another of our Society’s years has 
come to a close this day, ami it devolves upon me to say a few 
final words before yielding up this presidential chair. In doing so, 
my chief desire is to repeat my thanks to the members for having 
placed me in so honourable a position, and for their kindness in 
sustaining mo throughout the various evening meetings of the 
session. 
It is a matter of much congratulation that these meetings have 
continued to be well attended, and that the Society itself has 
continued thoroughly to fill that position of scientific usefulness 
Avhich w’as hoped for it at its first inauguration, now eighteen 
years ago. Such a lapse of time gives the opportunity of seeing 
how much good work has in the aggregate been done. And 
though, no doubt, in looking back through our volumes it will be 
found that different years have produced a varying amount of work 
judged by its importance, yet on the average we have reason to be 
well satisfied with what the successive numbers show' us, seeing 
that the totixl represents a very important collection indeed of 
natural history facts and information. The work of the present 
year has, I think, fully maintained the good average attained in 
other sessions. 
The Society too, has, as a whole, continued to prosper, and 
appears to be effectually carrying out the initial programme set 
forth on the first page of each volume of its ‘ Transactions.’ 
VOL. IV. 
u 
