Report of Society's Meetings. 115 
results have been quite satisfa6lory to the labourers who 
have engaged in cane-farming. 
During the year papers were read by Professor Harri- 
son (who had been assisted by Mr. Scard), on '* Faulty 
Rum," and by Mr. Quelch, on Crowa fibre. A Confer- 
ence of delegates representing the sugar industry of 
the West Indies and British Guiana was held in Bar- 
bados in September, the subject discussed being bounties, 
and the Hon. B. H, Jones represented this Society at 
the Conference. Some experimental shipments of tim- 
ber were made to England during the year ; the purple 
heart timber was sold at a profit, the other timbers had 
to be sold at a loss. The usual annual Horticultural 
Show was held and proved a decided success. The 
Committee of Correspondence have to be congratulated 
on the result of their work in connection with the Show, 
Mr. Quelch has recently returned from a journey to 
Roraima, and I am sure you will be delighted to hear him 
tell you something about his trip to-day. The library has 
had 400 volumes added to its contents during the year, 
and the Directors have a serious problem before them to 
provide the additional room for books, that will soon be 
required. The number of the specimens in the Museum 
is steadily increasing. The Society's journal Timehri 
has been reduced in size, to save a portion of the annual 
loss incurred in connection with its publication. The 
Society has a membership of 490 as against. 524 in 1897. 
This reduction of membership would indicate that the 
Society like the Colony generally is feeling the "hard 
times.'' During the year six members of the Society 
" crossed that bourne from whence no traveller returns," 
— amongst them Mr. G. B. Steele, long a member of the 
Book Committee, and Mr. G. E. Dalton. 
The President then proposed the Hon. B. H. Jones as his 
successor. 
The Hon. Mr Jones thanked the President for pro- 
posing him, 
The Office-Bearers for 1898 were then ele6led as per 
annexed list ; — 
