Proceedings of the Royal Society for the month of July, 1893

The monthly meeting of the Royal Society was held at the Museum on July 11, Sir Lambert Dobson presided, and there was a fair attendance of Fellows, together with a number of ladies. Mr. G. E. Spencer was elected a Fellow.
A communication was received from Mr. James Barnard, Vice-president, offering for the Society's acceptance a likeness of the late Captain Montague, a former Colonial Secretary prior to the introduction of responsible government, who was eminent as a statesman and high minded English gentleman.
A letter from Mr. A. Harley to the Secretary was read, in which the writer asked for an opinion concerning the introduction into the colony of soft wood trees, such as the Baltic Pine, Oregon Pine (North America), and Kauri Fine (New Zealand), but especially the Baltic Pine. Extensive comments from Hon. C. H. Grant, M.L.C, Mr. R. M. Johnston, Hon. N. J. Brown, M.H. and A., Mr. E. D. Swan. Sir Lambert Dobson said we had one very good soft wood in this colony—Huon pine. But that was very rapidly dying out, and soon there would be none in the country. There was no doubt that if the button-grass plains could be made to grow Baltic timber, or anything else it would be turning into the useful what was now useless. Discussion of the papers by Mr. Graham Officer, "The Geology of the Lake St, Clair District, Tasmania.", Mr. R. M. Johnston, “Notes on the geology of Lake St. Clair and its neighbourhood” and “Notes on some new and rare fish” by Mr. A. Morton .
The Secretary laid on the table the fourth volume of the " Journal of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science," and said that as editor of the journal he considered it his duty to ask for the thanks of the Society to Messrs. Strutt, Grahame, and Hogg, of the Government Printing Office, and the department generally, for the valuable assistance they had rendered in its production.