PREFACE. 



-<y< ■'. S^oo- 



THE Sixteenth time has come round for the Editor to say a few 

 words of Annual Greeting to the readers and contributors of 

 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Comprehending as they do every class and shade 

 of class of English society, he cannot but feel that the influence of 

 this journal may be one of those invisible and unconscious agents 

 which tend to bind us more closely together, by interesting us in 

 common pursuits. And perhaps there is no pursuit which unites, 

 men and women so enthusiastically as that of Natural History. 



In spite of the pseudo-scientific priggism which frequently takes 

 the place of the genuine love of Nature distinguishing all true 

 naturalists there can be no question that all Natural History 

 studies are spreading, and sweetening many toiling human lives by 

 their refreshing contact. The pursuit of knowledge is the monopoly 

 of no class of mankind, and its diffusion will always be one of the 

 most intellectually enjoyable to those who truly feel that it is better 

 to give than to receive. 



The variety of subjects, many of them the result of original 

 research and observation, which have been discussed in our pages 

 during the past twelve months, and nearly all of which are con- 

 tributed by amateurs, is a good indication of the mental activity of 

 our time. 



Our "Notes and Queries" columns, and those devoted to the 

 special branches of Natural Science are equally crowded with proofs 

 of an active spirit of enquiry and research, in one form or another. 

 Science is rapidly becoming a power in civilised society, although not 

 equal perhaps at present to that exercised by Politics or Theology. 



