An Editor's Prologue, 
E feel bound in our editorial — the gods forbid 
that we should ever be obliged to do so in our 
private — capacities to account for our existence. 
This we will try to do as briefly as possible. 
The Society, of which this Journal is to be the organ, 
has been in existence since 1 844 ; and one of its avowed 
objects has been the " establishing and carrying on of a 
periodical publication as the organ of the Society." 
Seeing that up to this year 1882 no such organ has 
ever been published, it is certainly time to begin. But 
that man, or that body of men, being clearly awkward- 
ly placed when compelled by any rule to write while 
there is nothing to write about, our duty evidently is to 
show that we have a story to tell. 
In a new country such as ours, ever since its dis- 
covery many new facts worthy of permanent record have 
constantly been learned and still constantly are learned. 
But as yet with us such facts have gained attention 
perhaps for a month, or even it may be for a year, 
only to be then immediately forgotten. To take 
only the last half century ; the brothers SCHOMBURGK 
traversed the colony from end to end, most busily collect- 
ing an d^obs erving ; CARL Appun worked here too ; much 
A 
