PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL PHYSICAL SOCIETY. EIGHTY-EIGHTH SESSION, 1858-59. Wednesday, November 24, 1858. Professor BALFOUR in the Chair. The following Gentlemen were elected Members of the Society : William Carruthers, Esq.; William Turner, M.B., Demonstrator of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh. Foreign Member-Count Victor Motschoulsky, St Petersburgh. The Donations to the Library included the following, and thanks were voted to the donors: 1. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Session 1857-58. From the Society.-2. Canadian Journal, Toronto, Nos. XV., XVI., and XVII. From the Canadian Institute, Toronto.-3. Papers read to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. By George Lawson, Ph.D. From the Author.-4. The Practical Naturalist's Guide. By James Boyd Davies. From the Author. - Professor BALFOUR then delivered the Opening Address as follows: It has been the usual practice in the Society that the retiring President shall give a short address on the occasion of his demitting office, and, in conformity with that custom, I have been called upon by your Secretary to make a few remarks this evening when I conclude my period of probation as President. The task is by no means an easy one, from the difficulty of finding some new topic of interest on which to expatiate. The history of the Society has been already given by my predecessors, and the obituaries of the eminent members who have lately been taken from us (a topic which in most Societies occupies much of the opening addresses), have VOL. II. A already been given by Fellows of the Society, more competent for the duty than myself. It has occurred to me that a brief notice of two Edinburgh Natural History Societies, which have now ceased to exist, and more particularly of the Wernerian Society, might not be altogether uninteresting. Natural History studies are peculiarly fitted to call forth the principles of association. There is something connected with the prosecution of them which draws students together, and which binds them by ties of no ordinary kind. The study of the Rocks and Minerals, Plants and Animals, of our globe naturally leads to extended wanderings over mountain and plain, by river side or ocean shore, during which the companionship of friends becomes especially valuable and cheering. There is a sociality in such pursuits which insensibly unites men in scientific brotherhood. Those who have joined in natural history excursions know well the fascination of such rambles, and look back with pleasure to the friendships thus formed. The collections made become also bonds of union. For every naturalist knows the importance of the interchange of specimens. The system of exchange has led to the formation of many associations. It was this which in a great measure led to the institution of the Botanical Society of this city. Edinburgh has been long celebrated for its Natural History Societies. The situation of our city, the rich fauna and flora of its neighbourhood, its instructive geological and mineralogical features, have rendered it one of the places best fitted for the prosecution of natural science in its practical details. The student has ample opportunities of pursuing science in all its departments. Our museums and gardens also supply a valuable means of acquiring information. Thus it is, that as a school of natural science, there is scarcely any city which possesses greater advantages. It might have been expected, therefore, that scientific societies would spring up among us. The Physical Society was among the earliest established, and it speedily acquired great eminence from the activity and zeal of its members. It embraced the whole range of science, both natural and physical, and it especially called forth the energies of young men who were zealously cultivating science within the walls of our University. It has had its reverses no doubt, but it still exists, and has now entered on its eighty-eighth session; and though its resources are not so large as they once. were, the zeal of its members I trust is not abated. We have among us many active naturalists whose labours have advanced natural history, and whose original researches have increased the fame and reputation of our school. Besides the Royal Physical Society, there were other Natural History Societies in Edinburgh, especially among the students of the University. One of them was the Plinian Society, which, during its short existence, tended much to foster the spirit of inquiry, and to call forth the efforts of the junior. naturalists of Edinburgh. It was essentially a students' society, and met within the walls of the College. It began its existence on 14th January 1823, and continued to meet till about the year 1835. It enrolled among its members many young naturalists who afterwards acquired eminence, such as Wm. Baird, now in the British Museum; M Vicar, now minister of Moffat; Jameson Torrie, well-known for his Natural History labours in connection with his uncle Professor Jameson; Ainsworth, who published Travels in the District of the Euphrates; Cheeke, the editor of a valuable Natural History Journal; Malcolmson, celebrated for his geological pursuits in India; Anderson of Inverness, whose guide to the Geology and Natural History of the Highlands is so justly praised; Robert Grant, now Professor of Comparative Anatomy in London; John Coldstream, one of the Fellows of our Society, whose labours in Zoology are deservedly famous; Clouston, now a clergyman at Sandwick, who has done much to elucidate the flora of Orkney; Woodforde, who published the Flora of Edinburgh; Lombard of Geneva; John Addington Symonds, now a distinguished physician at Bristol; Hugh Falconer, the Indian Botanist and Zoologist; Browne, one of the Commissioners of Lunacy, and many others. If I were to analyse the proceedings of that Society, I could show that many of those gentlemen exhibited in their communications the early dawnings of their devotion to those departments of science in which they afterwards attained distinction. I feel that not a little of the zeal with which I prosecuted botany was due to my early connection with this Society. |