The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-12-22
Portland society of Natural History.

| of Natural History was held Wednesday after.
| noon, the President in the chair. Having de-
cided that the reports of the curator should be
read at a subsequent meeting, the attention
was called to the business affairs of the Soce-
| ty. 1t was stated by the President that the be-
| quest of the late Mary X. Harrington had been
realized, and the property, consisting of houses,
land and mortgage deeds, had been sold,
the net proceeds amounting to about $4,000.
AT the last annual meeting suggestion was
| made by one of the members that the Day
| property on Elm street, could probably be pur-
| chased at reasonable rate, and as the position
was one that commended itself to the minds of
all, a committee was appointed to take the pre-
liminary steps for securing it.
After number of interviews with Mrs. Sew
all, the owner of the property. and obtaining
from her the lowest terms at which the sale
could be effected (Which did not vary dollar
from her first offer,) it was fually decided at
| meeting of the managers to make the purchase
and it was in due time sold to the Society for
the sum of $500.
This property consists of a lot of land ex-
tending one hundred and twenty feet on Elm
street, and running back to an average depth
OF ninety five feet upon which is substantial
brick house of two stories, capable OF being al
tered so as to meet the wants OF the Society tor
a series of years. The limited means of the
Society hay thus far delayed the necessary al
terations, but committee was. appointed at
this meeting to consult with an architect and
builder in relation to it, and to ascertain the
lowest terms upon which the plans already
formed can be carried into execution.
When this is accomplished, the Society will
be in condition to enable it to resume its old
time public meetings, courses of educational
lectures which, eminently successful, were so
suddenly brought to close by the confagra-
ton of 1866. 1t is to be hoped that all the
friends of the Society will aid it in its laudabe
efforts to accomplish this in the course of the
ensuing year.
1t was stated that it was very important for
the further advancement of the society that it
should soon resume the publication of its pro-
ceedIngs in order that it might be able to make
some return in kind for the valuable puolica-
lions of Home and Foreign Societies of which it
has been the recipient for many years, and for
which since 1870 it has been able to make
scarcely any return. 1t is not necessary to sup
pose that this can continue much longer, nor is
it desirable for every interest of the society rem
ders 1t important that it should resume at an
early date its publications. All of these So
cietes, some fifty or sixty of which are foreign,
are of course familiar with our misfortunes,
else the sending of their publications would
long ago have ceased. But not till within the
last week have we ever received notice that
they looked for any immediate return from US.
But at the very time that we we're making ar
rangements with the publisher for resuming
these publications, we received a note from the
rotary of the "Natur. hist, vereiu der Preuss,
Rhenlands and Westphalens" informing us
that as they had had no communications of ours
to record since 1870, they on their part would be
obliged to discontinue any further "sendings"
until they had been resumed on our part.
This we propose to do at once, and in our
humble way to restore our communications,
not only with the society above mentioned, but
with all the Others, more than a hundred in
number, with which we have more or less init
mate relations We can at least return a little
dross for the pure gold that we have been re-
ceiving from so many of them.
The regular stated meetings of the society
have been continued through the veal except
as usual during the heat of the summer. Usual
ly they are resumed in autumn, but owing to
the arrangement produced by the centennial
year they have been deferred almost to the
present time.
These meetings, though attended by very
limited number of our members whose zeal en-
ables them to overcome the difficulties which so
often by night lie in the way of making the
ascent to our rooms, serve very important
purpose in promoting the scientific and bust.
ness interests of the society, but we hope be-
fore long to make them an agreeable resort for
ALL
1t will be our painful duty to fill the vacancy
in the board of managers created by the la
mented death of our associate and confrere
John Neal, whose deep interest in our society
extends over, not only the whole period of its
existence, but reaches back to that of the asso-
citation which preceded and was undoubtedly
the cause of our own organization, the Maine
Institute of Natural Science. He was an ardent
friend and lover of science, and in his younger
years devoted himself assiduousy to its prac-
tical study, collecting, classifying and study
ing the rarCr forms of native and foreign
Floras. Of this we have the evidence in our
Harhqrupa q ms ouitp q 1aro mn
Der of plants collected by hun in the Alpine
regions OF our country and Switzerland. These,
by the accident of being at the house of one of
our number, have been saved from the deStruC-
tioD that has attended all of the valuable books
that he had added to our library. This interest
in the society never ceased and though, since
the fire, the sound of his voice has rarely been
heard in our meetings, yet his heart and hand
have ever been ready to aid in the promotion of
every project tending to advance its welfare.
The report of the Treasurer was then read,
from which it appears that the available means
of the society from all sources amounted to $10,-
$50, of which $500 have been used in the pur-
chase OF the Day estate, leaving balance in
the hands of the Treasurer of $20S5.
The society next proceeded to the choice of
officers of which the following were elected:
VIM. Wood, President
s. B. Beckett, Vice President.
John M. Gould, Cor. Secretary.
7. X. Jones, Rec. Secretary,
Edward Gould, Treasurer
Chss. B, Fuller, Cabinet Keeper.
S. E Spring, VIM. Senter, T. G. Hersey, W.
S. Dana, Rev. Thos. Hill, Lewis Pierce, Asso-
ciate Managers
Before the adjournment the President called
the attention of the members to to large box
of seeds, gums and other products of Egypt,
that had arrived that afternoon from Emil
Brugseh. Egyptian Com missioner to the Cen
tennial Exposition. He stated that whilst he
was there he became deeply inter ested in this
department and made the acquaintance of the
gentlemen in charge, which resulted in max
ing arrangements for mutual exchanges of the
natural history productions of the State of
Maine and Egypt. Accordingly upon his re-
turn to Portland large ana we'll filled box of
the marine and land productions of the state
of Maine was sent to Philadelphia and this box
has been received in return. It's of great in
terest to us, for it contains large number of
the vegetable products of Egypt just as they
were exhibited at the Exposition, and consist
of seeds, cotton, silk, gnms, pottery, sections
of wood cloth manufactured from the bark of
the wild fig, crystal of sulphur from Gebel ct
Gehrit. &c. Accompanying this box were three
photogral his of the people of MAN Man, de-
scribed in DR.. Schweinfurths' travels in Cen
trail Africa.
1t was decided at this meeting that the regu-
lar assessment of So, that has not been called
for since 1866, should be resumed, and it is very
desirable that all the members of the Society
should be willing to aid by this small sum its
IT.