PROCEEDINGS OP THE PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OP NATURAL SCIENCE. 
17 
fication to all present to have learnt from them of the 
increasing appreciation by, and sympathy with, the Society 
in the city and county; and he was sure that the new 
Museum buildings—of which they were so soon to get pos¬ 
session—would tend to increase the interest that was felt 
in the Society and its doings. Now that there was room 
for a library, he hoped that the hint which was thrown 
out about the formation of a Library Fund would not be 
let drop. With regard to Colonel Drummond Hay’s re¬ 
port, it must have been very annoying and tantalising to 
him that there was no room for arranging and exhibiting 
the different articles gifted to the Society, and of course 
that tended to diminish the enthusiasm of members; but 
he hoped that now that that difficulty was soon to be re¬ 
moved, the Curator would have the pleasure of receiving- 
large additions in the different natural products of the 
county. He had much pleasure in moving the adoption 
of the Reports. 
Ex-Bailie M'Neill seconded, and the motion was unani¬ 
mously agreed to. 
On the motion of Mr Robert Pullar, seconded by Mr 
Horace Skeete, a hearty vote of thanks was awarded the 
various executive officials of the Society for their services 
during the year. 
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COUNCIL. 
The following gentlemen were unanimously elected as 
the Officers and Council of the Society for 1881-82 :— 
Vice-Presidents. 
James Geikie, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., President. 
Rev. A. Milroy, D.D., 'j 
Horace Skeete, 
A. B. Sandeman of Huntingtowerfield, 
Robert Pullar, F.R.S.E., 
John Young, C.E., Tay Street, Secretary. 
John Macgregor, Perth Post Office, Treasurer. 
Colonel H. M. Drummond Hay, C.M.Z.S., of Seggieden, 
Curator. 
George Young, Librarian. 
F. Buchanan White, M.D., F.L.S., Editor. 
Andrew Coates, \ 
Magnus Jackson, F.S.A. Sc., \Councillors. 
S. H. Ellison, j 
Dr Geikie, the President, then delivered his Annual 
Address, as follows:— 
The Reports which have been read afford most grati¬ 
fying testimony to the continued prosperity of our Society, 
and I have to .congratulate you upon the approaching 
completion of our new Museum. Doubtless in our new 
quarters we may fairly anticipate even greater pro¬ 
sperity than we have had in the past. If we have 
made considerable progress under the adverse circum¬ 
stances which have hitherto surrounded us, what may 
we not hope to accomplish now that these hindrances 
are removed, and we have been, or will shortly be, 
provided with all necessary facilities for the prosecution 
of our work,—thanks to the liberality of our friends and 
wellwishers. During the past session we have had a 
number of papers brought before us, some of them by 
members who appear for the first time as contributors to 
our proceedings; and I would again urge upon members 
the desirability of aiding the Society still further in this 
matter. One of the great objects of a local Society like 
this is the faithful chronicling of facts—the collection of 
observations such as any one of us may make, and the 
publication of these for the benefit of observers elsewhere. 
Your Council has now made arrangements for the printing 
of abstracts of our proceedings, which will contain con¬ 
densed summaries of the results attained, while at the 
same time a selection of the more important papers will 
continue to appear as heretofore in the pages of our journal, 
The Scottish Naturalist. 
The importance of having stated meetings at which 
papers are read and discussed cannot be over - esti¬ 
mated. They promote good fellowship, they stimulate 
the members to renewed exertions, they are highly 
instructive to beginners, and they serve to confirm others 
in the methodical and systematic prosecution of their 
studies. Indeed, we may say that such meetings are 
the evidence that a Society is living, and not moribund or 
dead. They serve, moreover, to awaken in the outside 
public a more intelligent interest in the study of natural 
science; and their importance is now so generally recognised 
that the number of local Societies like our own is being in¬ 
creased year by year. Many men whose names are now re¬ 
cognized as those of leaders in the paths of science have com¬ 
menced their scientific careers in associations of no greater 
importance than our own. And it requires no prescience 
to predict that this will become increasingly the casein the 
future. 
In my presidential address of last year I made an ap¬ 
peal to members on behalf of our Museum : that they 
would remember it in their walks and excursions. I now 
renew that appeal, and hope that vasculum, hammer, and 
bag will be busily employed in procuring additions to our 
collection. 
Other matters affecting this Society are so fully and 
