president's address. 175 



careful discernment of even minute distinctions. It has often 

 been said, and I believe with much truth, that " a Naturalist is 

 always an amiable man;'''' and, I hope I may add, a religious man 

 too ; for, in the pursuit of this study — which lias for its objects 

 the wonderful and beautiful creations of nature — man must 

 necessarily raise his thoughts, admiration, and praise, to the 

 power, beneficence, and excellence of that Almighty Being by 

 whom all those things were made. The Naturalist cannot help 

 exclaiming, nearly in the words of the inspired Psalmist — who 

 himself so often refers to the various creatures in nature — '' O 

 Lord, our Creator, how excellent is thy name in all the Earth ! 

 We will think, also, of all Thy works ; and our talking shall bo 

 of Thy doings." I think I may here mention the recent publi- 

 cation of several works on Natural History, some of which will 

 be of much service to Students. The first that should be 

 named is the beautifully printed work of the late able Naturalist, 

 Dr. Wm. Macgillivray, which, from the peculiar circumstances 

 of the death of the author, the Queen most generously and 

 kindly having purchased, commanded that it should be "printed 

 for private circulation." It is edited by Dr. Lankester, and is 

 entitled " The Natural History of Dee Side and Braemar." The 

 Club is indebted to the consideration of H.R.H. Prince Albert 

 for a copy of this handsome book. And I may further state, that, 

 being illustrated with many wood-cuts, and an admirably exe- 

 cuted Geological Map, it describes the mountains and country as 

 well as their Geology ; it notices the distribution of the plants, 

 and gives copious Lists of the Fauna and Flora, the mosses being 

 excepted. It presents a valuable exemplar of our Home Natural 

 History, and I trust it may be taken as a model, in matter, by 

 those who desire to elucidate the natural objects of other dis- 

 tricts in the United Kingdom, although they cannot be expected 

 to publish in so very elegant a form. 



Another beautiful work, " The Ferns of Great Britain," by 

 Moore, has been completed during the last year. It is illustrated 

 with folio plates of the species, by the method new to this coun- 

 try, termed, in Austria, Physiotypa, or " Nature-printing." This 

 newly-invented, or rather improved art, is quickly effected, and, 



