Report of Society's Meetings. 423 
glittering specimens of native quartz and of ores 
of mercury, of silver and of copper, with various 
other minerals, testifying to the development of the 
mining industry in British Guiana, and of the en- 
couragement given by this Society to its followers. 
The Society at its June meeting looked favourably on 
Capt. White's banana trade, and just before the sitting of 
the Combined Court, gave his proposals entire support ; 
so that although the scheme lacks the full financial aid 
necessary to bring it to an issue, it is well on its legs, 
and I am confident will command the support of this 
Society until it becomes a substantial reality. 
From the Fruit Trade I pass easily to the recorded 
opinion of the Agricultural Committee which is decidedly 
adverse to the undertaking of experimentalising with new 
produces at the expense of the Society. I believe on this 
point the members of the Committee are quite unanimous* 
and they are also unanimous in thinking that all such 
experiments should be made where the Government have 
control of the machinery, viz., the Botanic Gardens, 
and that their recommendations adopted by the Society 
should be carried out in the Botanic Gardens under the 
Government Botanist and Directors chosen from the 
Agricultural Committee. In former times liberal members 
of this Society would on the estates under their charge 
give a trial to new varieties of sugar cane and to other 
plants of economic value, but for obvious reasons this is 
not a good plan where a public institution exists for this 
very purpose, and where skill and means are in combi. 
nation to give every chance to cause fair and exhaustive 
trials to be made. 
It appears to me that the only way in which the 
