120 ANNIVEESAEY ADDRESS 



The ferns of our county, which everybody admires so much, 

 have already been brought under our notice by Mr. Littleboy, and 

 I imagine there will not be many additions to the list with which 

 he has furnished us ; but I think the mosses of the district have 

 not been touched upon, and that they would be an exceetlingly 

 interesting subject of study to anybody who will take it up. The 

 fungi, also, appear to me to be very worthy of observation, and I 

 hope we may have some communications on the subject of these 

 lower plants in the course of our next session. But even without 

 going into the fields to botanize, there are other subjects which 

 you may observe at home; and I think anybody who has read 

 those interesting books of Darwin's, on climbing plants, for 

 instance, must feel how many objects of interest there are for 

 those who only have a few flower-pots or the smallest portion of 

 garden ground. It is interesting to observe the almost instinctive 

 properties of certain plants. Whether in twisting round so as to 

 obtain a support on which to rest, or in turning to the light, they 

 seem in some instances to approximate to the instinct of animals. 

 The carnivorous plants, as to whose flesh-eating habits Darwin has 

 also written, might possibly be experimented upon ; and I am sure 

 the members of this Society will be extremely indebted to any one 

 who will bring before them the results of their experiments, illus- 

 trated by the plants themselves. 



As to Zoology, we have had no papers on the higher animals. 

 There are in this district a fsiir number of wild MammaKa still in 

 existence — the badger, the hedgehog, the mole, and various other 

 animals, as to whose habits observations may bo directed, which 

 would be of interest to the Society. 



"We have also not heard much of Ornithology, though we have 

 had one paper on the seasonal migration of birds ; but any one who 

 has read Gilbert White's * Natural History of Selborne ' must 

 have seen how extremely interesting are observations in con- 

 nexion with the habits of birds. Whether it is with regard to the 

 question of the food on which they live ; whether it is the con- 

 nexion which exists between the birds, the insects, and the fruit of 

 ft district; or whether it is with regard to their habits of migration, 

 they are among the most interesting subjects of observation which 

 the naturalist can have. If, in addition, some meteorological obser- 

 vations, as to the season, the temperature, and other probable 

 causes which bring the birds amongst us, are made, some special 

 interest will be given to the subject. 



