134 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
grand scheme of Nature which any kind of Museum 
can give. Now, it is the hope of this Society to realize 
in time what we may term a model local collection—a col¬ 
lection which shall be exhaustive of the geology, the 
zoology, and the botany of this county. Such a scheme 
cannot, of course, be accomplished all at once;—it 
will take years of search and labour on the part of the 
members;—but even already, as you shall see to-night, 
a good beginning has been made, and no inadequate 
notion of the natural treasures of this county can 
be gathered from an inspection of the present collection. 
Of the educational advantages of such a Museum I 
need not now speak. I think they are generally re¬ 
cognised by every intelligent and educated man. And 
I would urge upon every son of Perthshire to do 
what he can to make this County Museum a success. 
Let it be borne in mind that the Museum has 
been constructed solely for the education and entertain¬ 
ment of the community, and that there is no endowment 
for its support. It is kept up entirely by the Society of 
Natural Science, and the ability of the Society to do so 
depends upon the number of its paying members. The 
Society has fortunately been increasing during the past 
few years at a gratifying rate, but I feel persuaded 
that many other natives of Perthshire might be in¬ 
duced to become members if they only realised the 
good results that are likely to follow from the establish¬ 
ment of this Museum upon a secure basis. To attain 
this end in a yet more direct manner I would advise that 
some attempt should be made to collect an endowment 
fund—which need not be large, but sufficient to pay the 
current expenses connected with the keeping-up of the 
establishment. A small sum from every one interested 
in the educational advancement of his town and county 
would, in a short time, put the Museum upon an 
independent footing, and relieve the Society from the 
present great strain upon its resources. I feel sure that 
if a scheme of the kind I have suggested were to be 
brought properly before the public it would meet with 
gratifying support. Let me add that this suggestion is 
entirely my own, and has been made without any con¬ 
sultation with my former colleagues in the Society. 
Although not of Perthshire myself, I yet have the greatest 
interest in the success of this Museum, and if I, an alien, 
feel so warmly in the matter, how much warmer must 
be the feeling amongst yourselves, and why, therefore, 
should there be any doubt about the success of such an 
appeal as I have ventured to suggest. But, ladies and 
gentlemen, I have now detained you long enough, and will 
conclude my remarks by declaring the Perthshire Museum 
of Natural History to be now open. And I hope and 
believe that, under God’s good guidance, it will be a bles¬ 
sing to the community—tending a3 it must do to increase 
our knowledge of this beautiful part of Scotland, and 
to heighten our conception of the order and harmony that 
reign throughout all Nature. 
Colonel Drummond Hay of Seggieden said—Ladies and 
gentlemen, I have to beg of you to join with me in a vote 
of thanks to Professor Geikie for the very able address 
he has given us to-night. He has, in the lecture we 
have just heard, called himself an alien. I can hardly 
look upon him in that light, because he was for two years 
President of this Society, and it is owing in a great 
measure to his energy that the Museum is in the position 
in which we find it on this its opening day. I therefore 
ask you not only to return your thanks to Professor 
Geikie for the very able address he has given to¬ 
night, but also for the assistance we have received from 
him at various times, and especially during the time he 
was President of this Society. 
Dr F. Buchanan White seconded the motion, and it 
was carried with acclamation. 
LECTURE ON WATER. 
At 8.15 as many of the audience as could gain admit¬ 
tance, assembled in the Society’s Lecture-Room when, 
Mr Samuel Walker, M.A., B.Sc., delivered an interest¬ 
ing lecture on “Water,” illustrated by experiments. In 
the course of his remarks, the lecturer said that if a cur¬ 
rent of electricity produced by means of a Grove's battery 
were sent through water, bubbles of gas would be seen rising 
from the platinum wires immersed in the water, and con¬ 
nected with copper wires from the battery. These gases 
might be caught in separate tubes and examined, when 
it would be found that they were hydrogen and oxygen, and 
that there was exactly twice as much hydrogen as there was 
oxygen. He farther explained that if a mixture of two 
volumes of hydrogen and one of oxygen were put into a 
bottle aud held to a flame, these gases would combine and 
form water with violent explosion. That was due to the 
concussion between the expanded steam issuing from the 
bottle and the air. Hydrogen and oxygen could be ob¬ 
tained from water in an easier way than by means of the 
electric current. Hydrogen could be got from water by 
acting upon it with something which would unite with the 
oxygen and leave the hydrogen; and oxygen could be got 
by acting on it with something which would take the 
hydrogen and leave the oxygen. When the metal sodium 
was put into water it united with the oxygen and set 
free the hydrogen, which rose in bubbles to the surface. 
