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president’s address. 
contributed by Mr. Wheler of Alnwick. The remainder of the 
evening was monopolised by myself, in giving a description of the 
prevailing meteorological conditions of 1897. 
It may be added that the Society decided to memorialise the 
Norfolk County Council as to the extension of close time to 
shore-birds in this county to the 1st September, and the memorial 
was subsequently duly signed by the Secretary and myself on 
behalf of the Society, and forwarded to the proper quarter. 
In selecting a subject on which to address you this evening 
I find considerable difficulty, not being sufficiently learned on 
those branches of Natural History which usually commend 
themselves for discussion. It is therefore with some diffidence 
that I am going to ask you for a few minutes to bear with me 
on a subject which, although not altogether unfamiliar to the pages 
of our ‘ Transactions,’ has not often been dealt with in recent 
years. 1 allude to the recording of phenological phenomena, and 
in bringing this subject before you I am following the precedent 
set by the Royal Meteorological Society, who of late years have 
brought the matter very prominently before the Fellows with 
a view of augmenting the staff of observers throughout the 
kingdom, so as to increase the amount of observations from which 
to obtain the averages of first flowering of plants, both garden 
and indigenous, the dates of first leafing of trees, first appearance 
of birds and insects, as well as other natural phenomena. In past 
times we have the “Gilbert "White” record, as well as that kept 
for so long a period by the Marsham family, at Stratton Strawless 
and neighbourhood, the latter forming the subject of a most 
interesting paper by Mr. T. Southwell (see ‘Transactions,’ 1874 — 
75). Of late years the number of observers of these phenomena 
has vastly increased throughout the kingdom, and there is 
now a complete set of observers organised by the Royal 
Meteorological Society, ably superintended by the ex-President 
of that Society, my friend, Mr. Edward Mawley, F. R. Met. Soc., 
F.R.H.S., of Berkhamsted, Herts, Secretary of the National Rose 
Society, &c. As an observer of the temperature and rainfall for 
many years, as well as being interested in Natural History, 1 have 
