REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR igil. 
Vll 
beneath the shade of the trees and thoroughly enjoyed a 
description of the Roman and other remains entrusted to our 
care. At Whitsuntide the gardens were again thrown open to 
the public for 2 days, and on St. Mark’s Day the Industrial 
School children are invited to play in the Gardens. 
Privilege tickets are granted to students, and classes from 
the elementary and secondary schools are admitted to the 
Museum for science teaching throughout the year. All this 
shews that our members are no selfish clique, and that though 
the) 7 pay liberally for the upkeep of the Museum and grounds, 
they generously share its advantage with their neighbours. 
The public are sometimes apt to forget that the Philosophical 
Society purchased at a heavy cost fully two-thirds of their 
grounds and are still engaged in repaying the money borrowed 
lor this purpose, and that if the gardens are attractive and the 
membership restricted, that our members are willing to continue 
the comparatively high annual subscription by which alone 
that beauty can be maintained. 
A capital sum of no less than £25,000 in addition to annual 
maintenance has been spent upon the Museum and Gardens 
since the Society was formed. The area of the gardens is very 
small, and the Roman remains, St. Leonard’s Hospital and the 
ruins of St. Mary’s x\bbey are priceless and place the grounds 
in an entirely different position from that of the ordinary open 
space or public park. In this connection it is worth quot¬ 
ing from that delightful book, “ Highways and Byways of 
Yorkshire,” when speaking of the Museum gardens its talented 
Author writes :—“A pleasant stretch of shady turf and winding 
“walks enclosing a group of ruins and remains which takes 
“high rank even in Yorkshire for its beauty, and for wealth of 
“human interest is unsurpassed.” Prior to our Society’s 
rescuing these grounds the Abbey was used as a target for 
musket practice, whilst a row of lime kilns were rapidly con¬ 
verting the ruins into building material and agricultural tillage. 
It sometimes takes several weeks for the lawns to recover 
from the wear and tear of two free days at Whitsuntide, and 
with the restricted use of our members it is often difficult to 
preserve the turf, and a certain amount of re-sodding has to be 
done every year. 
