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president’s address. 
Botany, through which they were conducted by Professor Newton, 
Mr. Harmer, Mr. Shipley, and others. In the Museum of Zoology, 
Professor Newton exhibited an interesting series of species of 
birds which have become extinct in recent times, and made some 
remarks upon the probable causes which led to their extinction. 
He then brought to the notice of the party certain Pen birds, and 
gave a few particulars of the partial reversion of this interesting 
district to somewhat of its former condition after the great flood of 
1852, when the Redshank, Black-headed Gull, and Black Tern 
once more for a brief time returned to their old breeding haunts ; 
and exhibited some eggs of the latter bird, which were taken in 
Feltwell Fen in 1853. Mr. D. Sharp, the curator in Zoology, 
exhibited some beautiful preparations, showing the stridulating 
organs of Ants, which had been shown at a recent soiree of the 
Royal Society. The botanists experienced a rich treat at the hands 
of Mr. F. Darwin, and witnessed some interesting experiments then 
in progress, exhibiting the absorption of water by plants and their 
exhalation of oxygen. The Botanical Museum under his charge is 
small at present, but its contents are of peculiar interest, and the 
modes of preparation the most recent and perfect known. It would 
occupy too much space to enumerate the objects of interest in the 
biological laboratory, but special mention must be made of the treat 
which Professor Liveing had prepared for those who accompanied 
him through the Chemical section. Starting from the basement, 
in which are powerful steam engines for working the air pumps and 
dynamos, he conducted the party through room after room fitted 
with every appliance for chemical study and research, and pointed 
out many ingenious devices for minimising the discomfort produced 
by large numbers of students working with sulphuretted hydrogen 
and other evil- smelling compounds, and courteously answered all 
inquiries concerning the apparatus, &c. Much interest was excited 
in the room where Professor Liveing was carrying on his researches 
on the spectrum, and he permitted those present to inspect the 
gratings used by him fortius purpose, ruled with 14,000 to 17,000 
lines to the inch. In one part of the physical laboratories students 
were at work determining the co-efficient of expansion of glycerine, 
