I20 
TiMEHRI. 
boy by Mrs. im Thurn ; Serricorn Beetle by Mr A. Cozier . 
and a Moth by Mr. L. Vieira. 
The meeting then terminated. 
Meeting held 12th January, i8gg. — Hon. B. Howell 
Jones, President, in the chair. 
Members present 8. 
Eleflions. — Members: Mr. E. A. Rice and Dr. J. J. 
Heyer. 
Associates: Messrs. C. D. Hill, J. G. Gray, 
W. B. Clark, J. A. W. Ward, Albert Rodway, Jno. 
de Souza, Wm. Davis and E. H. Hodgkinson. 
The President gave the following inaugural address : — 
He said that in late years it had been customary 
for the President of the Society at the first monthly 
meeting of the year to give an address. He did not 
know that the custom had become like the laws of 
the Medes and Persians never to be broken, but he 
thought they took a more liberal view of the matter and 
left it to the President to give an address if he wished. 
He desired to say a few words at this, the opening meet- 
ing of the vear, but he would hardly like to put it down 
in the category as an address. The late President, Mr. 
Duncan, at the last meeting, reviewed the work of the 
Society, but he (Mr. Jones) proposed to view the general 
outlook of the Colony, and what had been done during 
the past year with regard to agriculture and other mat- 
ters which were of interest to persons conne6led with 
the lands of the Colony. Last year was one of very 
great anxiety to all classes of colonists. In the first 
place they had extremely exceptional rains in November, 
and December 1897, especially, ^"^ ^^ might say almost 
entirely, in the Counties of Demerara and Essequebo. 
The result was that many cane-pieces on the stiff clay 
lands did not ratoon, and a great many of the supplies 
put in did not grow. This weather not only affe6led 
the cane growers, but it was equally disastrous to the 
