The President's Address. 99 



such subjects appears to be the behef that some special 

 quahty of mind is necessary, and many who are really 

 interested in the pursuits of the naturalist allow their 

 interest to remain passive for this reason. But the neces- 

 sary qualities of mind really differ in no way in kind from 

 those possessed by any person of average intelligence. 

 Professor Huxley is never tired of insisting that science is 

 but organized common sense : — " Anyone who looks into 

 the matter attentively will soon perceive that there is no 

 solid foundation for the behef that the realm of science is 

 thus shut off from that of common sense, or that the mode 

 of investigation which yields such wonderful results to the 

 scientific investigator is different in kind from that which 

 is employed for the commonest purposes of every day exist- 

 ence. Common sense is science exactly in so far as it 

 fulfils the ideal of common sense — that is, sees facts as they 

 are, or, at any rate, without the distortion of prejudice, 

 and reasons from them in accordance with the dictates of 

 sound judgment. And science is simply common sense at 

 its best ; that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and 

 merciless to fallacy in logic."-'' These statements, coming 

 from one of the masters of biological science, must surely 

 hold out every encouragement to those who desire to take 

 up the study of these subjects. There is no one amongst 

 us but, after he has once acquired a substantial ground- 

 work in some branch of our studies, can do real service to 

 the Club and to science at large, and I only hope that our 

 next volume of publications will show that these remarks 

 have fallen upon fertile soil. 



In many scientific societies it is customary for the 

 President to occupy the attention of the members at the 

 annual meeting with a discourse upon some special branch 

 of science with which he is most familiar, and although this 

 is a custom of which I greatly approve, I much regret that 

 my numerous occupations have left me without the time 

 necessary for collecting the materials for such an address. 



* "The Crayfish: An Introduction to the Study of Zoology," 

 1880, pp. 1 and 2. 



