464 
BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
After Dr. Botsford’s death there had been several changes 
in the presidency, this office having been occupied successively by 
G. F. Matthew, G. U. Hay and Dr. H. G. Addy. In 1901 
Hon. J. V. Ellis was called to the chair and has continued 
president until this year. His repeated re-election shows that he 
has proved a most efficient officer. 
His term of eleven years may be divided into two periods, 
the first that in which we continued to occupy the quarters 
in the market building granted to us by the Common Council, 
the latter that when we had moved to our present quarters. 
Dr. Botsford, by his will, left a part of his estate to the 
Natural History Society. This money was held for the purchase 
of a building as a home for the Society, and was eventually 
invested in the purchase of the Finn building on Union street, 
which has been changed to suit the requirements of the Society 
for a museum, library and quarters for the Curator. 
With added facilities for carrying on their work, and added 
instruments for making it entertaining, the activities of the 
Society have had full scope. In no way is this better shown 
than in the remarkable expansion in numbers of the Associate 
membership between 1882 and 1899, when it varied by various 
numbers, seldom rising to half a hundred, to the succeeding 
seven years, in which it averaged nearly one hundred, and 
now is far beyond that mark. The increase seems to be asso- 
ciated with the institution of the ladies’ afternoon lectures, 
of which two courses were established, one before and the other 
after the New Year. 
In this connection it may be mentioned that two classes 
of junior members have shown a large increase in the last few 
years, the “Juniors” and the “Junior Associates” (girls). 
The increase in these branches may be traced to the devotion 
of the Curator in giving these young people chances to study 
Nature at first hand on the River St. John. 
Referring to these young students leads one’s thoughts to 
some activities of the Society which have fallen into abeyance 
of late years. These are the Summer Camps that used to be 
held. There is a record of six such camps in the Bulletin: 
