president's address. 49 



are not always read, and even Botanists have appeared with an 

 array of implements calculated to cause at least a suspicion of 

 felonious intentions. There are large tins and curious knives, 

 which may, no doubt, contain sandwiches^ or be employed for 

 festive purposes. To use language which savours of the shop, I 

 suppose we must give them the benefit of the doubt, and take an 

 acquittal. But fashion as well as science has lately commenced a 

 crusade against a most innocent tribe of plants — the ferns; and 

 many hundreds of the thousands who visit the dene annually 

 plunder it of those rare and beautiful inmates. There are or 

 were sixteen different species of ferns in the dene, which are not 

 likely long to survive the constant inroads of these moss-troopers. 

 The Lady's Slipper is now so nearly extinct, that I vainly 

 endeavoured to exhibit a native specimen of it to the Society 

 when they last visited the dene. The Epipactis ensifoUa^ the 

 Pyrola rotundifolia, the Fly Orchis and JBird's-nest Orchis, 

 have all been frequently taken up, and none are likely to survive 

 long in a garden; nor are any of them so numerous as not to 

 run the risk of extirpation. I must appeal to the Society to 

 support me in the prevention of the offence of tearing plants 

 from their native habitats, where alone they flourish and delight 

 the scientific observer, and placing them to wither in gardens, or 

 pine on rockwork, or under glass-shades. 



In the enumeration of the duties of a President, I find that he 

 is to suggest subjects of interest. In this respect, as in others, 

 I feel that the field has been so thoroughly harvested that little 

 remains to be gleaned. Former Presidents have — or my igno- 

 rance makes me think they have — left little to suggest. There 

 is, however, one subject, which, if it comes within the scope of 

 the Society, and if there are the means of prosecuting the inquiry, 

 would, I think, be interesting. I mean, inquiry into the actual 

 condition of the inhabitants of our Northern Counties, especially 

 the labouring classes, as contrasted with its state in former and 

 remote periods. A few papers, containing the result of thorough 

 and careful investigation, might convey much that is generally 

 unknown, and might possibly even elicit new discoveries. I 

 know not whether this is practicable, but if it be so, it is cer- 



