144 
fishes besides Salmon, such as the Tench for instance, might 
be introduced with a chance of success and it was resolved 
that the sum of £ 10 should be expended by the Society by 
way of experiment. The greatest difficulty would be the care 
required by the spawn on its arrival at Mauritius, and the se- 
lection of the persons who would be entrusted with it. 
The abundant rains which fell at the beginning of the year 
and the excessive heat which prevailed during the intervals 
of sun, conditions so favorable to tropical vegetation, have 
produced in plants a luxuriant development of branches, twigs 
and leaves. 
The Secretary observed that it was a great good, at least 
that it should be looked upon as such, since it often happens 
that good and evil are side by side, although resulting from the 
same cause. Now, if the rains produced salutary effects in 
the dry parts of the Island, principally the sea sides, the su- 
gar canes in certain of the cold, damp and elevated parts have 
evidently suffered from the excessive rains. Experience has 
proved that in lands which do not absorb all the water that 
falls and where the sun veiled in clouds cannot carry it off by 
evaporation, the plant being retained too long in a damp soil, 
a discoloration of the leaves takes place, which assume a yel- 
lowish tinge, decomposition of the tissue followed and death 
inevitably ensues. 
The Secretary also brought to notice that the plants with 
fleshy and nutritious roots have equally suffered in this sense 
that vegetation was directed to the branches and leaves which 
obtained a prodigious development at the expense of the roots 
and tubercles reduced to mere thin threads. 
Your Excellency in a visit to the Museum seemed to ex- 
press surprise that donations are not oftener made, which 
would show the interest attached to it by the public. But it 
is easily answered that besides the Museum there are scienti- 
fic persons who possess collections to which they devote most 
part of their time and for which they spend money. They 
are obliged to purchase in order to increase their collections, 
but they never give away. They are misers who keep and 
lock up their treasures right or wrong. On the other hand 
there are collectors who make their trade of reselling the ob- 
