Annual Meeting.] 
18 
[May 7, 
There has also been a special course upon zoology given to a lim- 
ited class in continuation of the course given last winter and the 
winter preceding b}' Mr. B. H. Van Vleck. The plan of this series 
was reported upon in 1888 and it only remains to add that it was 
carried out with regard to the Insects and Vertebrates, the subjects 
taught this year, in the same spirit and with equal facilities in the 
way' of specimens for study and dissection. The average attend- 
ance at each lesson was 26 persons. 
Field courses in Geology, carried on by Mr. George H. Barton, 
have been reported upon in these pages for several years. The ef- 
forts made in these courses has been to spread before teachers the 
whole range of geological phenomena so far as it could be illustra- 
ted by the studj 7 of the neighborhood of Boston. No attempt was 
made to show all that could be seen, but rather to oblige the teach- 
ers to see for themselves and thus give them independence in their 
methods of study and enable them to apply their information and 
use proper methods in teaching their own pupils. 
The importance of such studies in the field, and the fact that 
they could not be charged for at remunerative and self-sustaining 
rates, was called to the attention of the Trustee of the Lowell In- 
stitute, and he generously consented to pay the expenses of the 
course for the winter of 1889-90. In consequence of this the 
charge formerly made for tuition was remitted and members of the 
class were required only to pay their own car fares, and other per- 
sonal expenses. 
The immediate object of the course being instruction and prac- 
tice in making observations in the field, localities of special geo- 
logical interest were visited and carefully studied. The principal 
objects of investigation were selected from among those that would 
best illustrate the lithology, petrology, glacial phenomena, and the 
relative age of the rocks in the neighborhood of Boston. A few 
excursions were also made to some more distant points ; such as 
Bolton, Clinton, Fitchburg and the Hoosac Tunnel in this state, 
and Smithfield and Newport, in Rhode Island, which were of ad- 
vantage in enabling the class to understand more clearly the geol- 
ogy of the vicinity of Boston. 
The course consisted of twenty lessons, ten given in the autumn of 
1889 and ten in the spring of 1890. 
In addition to the above one other course was given which was 
not under the patronage of the Trustee of the Lowell Fund. 
