SOCIETIES. 63 



will engage special teachers for Natural History. At Banbury, 

 Cheshire, is a grammar school head teacher, Mr. Bailey, who takes a 

 deep interest in Economic Entomology. His school is attended by 

 farmers' children. He has breeding cases in the school windows, and 

 encourages the children to observe. He has particularly called their 

 attention to the Warble Fly, and has told them the life history of the 

 Grub, and showed them hoAv to squeeze it out of the hides. In 1885, 

 one boy brought to the school 250 gTubs from his father's farm ; 

 indeed, so energetic have the boys been, that this pest has lieen almost 

 entirely eradicated from the district where it used to be a great scourge. 

 In my educational collection I have a grub that was squeezed out by 

 one of Mr. Bailey's scholars. Our Society has the honour to possess in 

 the person of our Vice-President, the Eev. H. H. Higgins, a man who, 

 during his time, has done perhaps as much as any one man, and a 

 great deal more than many, to spread a love of Natural History. 

 Amongst the many things, and, perhaps, one of the most useful things 

 he has done, is the system of circulating cabinets, which he inaugu- 

 rated, and Avhich is now in vogue at the Liverpool ]\Iuseum. These 

 cabinets are fitted up with objects of Natural History, each cabinet 

 illustrating one subject. A cabinet is sent out to a school and allowed 

 to remain there for a time. Lessons upon the objects contained in the 

 cabinet are given to the scholars by the teachers, and after it has 

 remained a certain time it is taken away and sent to another school, and 

 another cabinet is given in its j^lace. This system is, j^erhaps, one of 

 the most perfect yet devised, and is well calculated to sjiread that love 

 for the works of creation and the Creator, which I am sure we all 

 desire. I am told that this system is now being adopted in other 

 towns. From an educational point of view, the value of this 

 mode of instruction in Natural Histor}^ cannot be too liighly es- 

 timated. It is a kind of kindcr-garten method, and more may be 

 gathered by a short inspection and brief description than could be 

 acquired by days of hard reading. The mention of the order given to 

 Mr. Mosley for cases containing a collection of injurious insects for 

 Australia, suggests my making a few remarks about himself. He is 

 the son of a working man, and was led to the love and study of Natural 

 History, as I have before stated, through assisting his father collecting 

 insects for the purpose of picture making. He now devotes himself 

 entirely to the advancement of Natural History, and a considerable 

 portion of his life has been devoted, free of emolument, to its cause. 

 His house, which is filled Avith specimens of Natural History, he has at 

 all times thrown open to the public, inviting them to participate in 

 what he himself so thoroughly enjoys and appreciates. He had notices 

 posted in all the schools of the district that he would give freely to 

 teachers any information he possessed if they would only -seek it, and 

 many apply to him for the loan of objects for lessons, for lectures, etc. 

 to all of Avhich he has given a free response, no one ever being refused. 

 His house, too, is the rendezvous of naturalists from neighbouring 

 towns, who gather together to look over his collections, get their 

 specimens named, etc. For seven years he taught weekly in the 

 Huddersfield Board Schools, and fitted up gratuitously one of the 

 schools with cases. He has been empowered by the Government to fit 

 up collections of injurious insects for South Kensington, Kew, Colony 

 of Victoria ; also for the Eoyal Dublin Museum, Edinburgh University, 

 as well as for various Agricultural Colleges, Schools, etc., and lias just 



