PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. XXI 
you will remember, to print and publish in future a work to be called 
the Transactions of the Society, and I am glad to hear from our 
present Editor that good progress is being made with the first part. 
It is important that you should know—in order that you may assist 
in carrying to perfection our scheme—what is to be the nature of 
these T?'ansactio?is. And, to make that clear, let us inquire as to 
what should be the character of the meetings of the Society, as it is 
upon them that the Transactions depend. Putting aside considera¬ 
tion of the routine business of the meetings, let us pass at once to 
the papers that are, or should be, brought forward. It is a matter 
not altogether free from difficulty, since we have at one and the same 
time to try and hit two targets. On the one hand, the papers must be 
sufficiently popular to be intelligible and interesting to an audience the 
majority of which has not had a scientific training. On the other hand, 
we must have papers of sufficient originality to enable them to have 
a place in the Transactions if these are to take a position in scientific 
literature. I think the difficulty may be got over by the plan adopted 
by your Council when considering the scheme. To make the meet¬ 
ings sufficiently interesting to the general body of members, we should 
endeavour to have at each meeting one popular address or lecture, 
of which the title only shall appear in the publications of the Society. 
At the same meeting we ought to have what I may call, for the sake 
of distinction, one or more scientific papers, which need not be read 
in full, or even at all, but be merely presented to the Society with 
a view to publication, the Publishing Committee deciding afterwards 
when such papers shall be printed. In this way, and with the assist¬ 
ance of the members, the difficulty of making the meetings popular, 
and at the same time maintaining and enhancing the scientific reputa¬ 
tion of the Society, may be overcome. Above all things, do not let 
the Society sink to the level of a “ Literary Association.” 
One word as to the time of appearance of the Transactions. 
This must necessarily be irregular. In the first place, it must depend 
on the supply of material—/.<?., on the amount of suitable papers; 
and, in the second place, on the funds available for the expenses of 
publication. The Council decided that each member should receive 
a copy free of charge, and hence there is no fund available beyond what 
remains after the other necessary expenses of the Society have been 
defrayed. For these reasons it may happen—we cannot say yet— 
that a part of the Transactions may extend over two years; or, on 
the other hand, that two parts may be published in one year. Mem¬ 
bers must not therefore be surprised at any irregularities in the time 
of publication. As I am writing an idea has occurred to me. While, 
by economy in our ordinary expenses, we may hope to have funds 
for the printing of the Transactions , we cannot expect, with our small 
annual subscription, to have any money available for purposes of 
illustration. In some other scientific societies there is a special fund 
—raised by donation—for this purpose. Why should we not try and 
follow this example ? I need not dilate upon the advantage to the 
Transactions that an occasional illustration would be. 
Returning now for a moment to the beginning of this argument, 
and summing up what has been brought forward, I would urge that 
