people, and the public holidays can be better spent than in 

 visiting collections of objects, such as the great museums of 

 natural history contain ? But this I consider to be unneces- 

 sary. That the importance of the investigations in the 

 natural sciences, which are occupying the time and the 

 thoughts of many of the most gifted men of the age, should 

 not be appreciated in our intelligent community, is not pos- 

 sible. That the results of these investigations, which are in- 

 fluencing our opinions of our own being and of life ; that are 

 modifying our religious belief; that in conjunction with the 

 discoveries of astronomical science, though operating in an 

 opposite direction, are opening to us the most enlarged and 

 glorious views of the power and goodness of the Creator of 

 all, should be overlooked here, I cannot believe. Thanks to 

 the studies which our Society encourages, every intelligent 

 person of the present time regards as familiar facts, wonders 

 such as the ancient philosophers did not, in the utmost stretch 

 of their imaginations, conceive, and is capable of understand- 

 ing the importance of the developments now making from 

 time to time. 



If it be asked in what way we have contributed to the pro- 

 gress of these sciences, how we have aided in the advance, 

 we can ask the inquirer to look back and see what has been 

 the history and influence of this Society. 



The Boston Society of Natural History was founded by a 

 few gentlemen, who were drawn together by a similarity of 

 tastes and pursuits, for the purpose of increasing their own 

 knowledge by frequent intercourse with each other. They 

 did indeed hope that they might awaken among our citizens 

 an interest in the natural sciences, and thus extend the use- 

 fulness of the institution beyond its own limits ; but this 

 hope was, in consequence of former failures, only a faint one. 

 Its founders were mostly young men, and they cannot be said 

 to have had the countenance and aid of their seniors to any 

 considerable extent ; for the new experiment was supposed 

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