]i THE NATURALIST. 



gical," or " Naturalist " does not exist, whilst " Field Clubs " are con- 

 tinually exploring every portion of the country. The West-Riding Con- 

 solidated Naturalist Society alone, comprising six societies within an area 

 of twenty miles, numbers upwards of 200 members ; the Northern 

 Entomological Society (Liverpool) about the same number ; and it would 

 not be too much to affirm that in Yorkshire and Lancashire alone, 2,000 

 students of nature are banded together in societies of this kind. It is our 

 earnest wish that " The Naturalist " may be the means of binding them 

 still more firmly together, and making them better known to each other 

 and to their brethren in more distant parts of the country, and of increas- 

 ing their zeal and love for natural science. In order to further this object 

 we should be glad to be furnished with, and at a future time to publish, 

 a list of such societies, with the names and addresses of the secretaries, 

 and the number of members. The Transactions of these societies shall 

 always have a place in the pages of " The Naturalist " if communicated 

 to us by some officer of the society, and we anticipate in the list of natural 

 objects found during the excursions, much information tending to throw 

 light on the geographical distribution of species. 



In order to make " The Naturalist " a success, we earnestly ask for 

 the co-opel-ation and encouragement of all who bear the name, in what- 

 ever department of the work they may labour ; without this assistance 

 success is impossible, with it, a certainty. Let no man shrink from the 

 task of contributing to its pages, under the impression that he is incom- 

 petent to do so. Any observation made of any natural phenomenon by 

 a7iy person, if made carefully, truthfully, and simply as it occurs, is 

 worthy of preservation, and will assist in filling up the great storehouse 

 of facts, from which at some future time important generalizations may be 

 made. 



We refer with feelings of grateful pleasure to the list of gentlemen 

 who have kindly promised us their assistance, as an earnest of the sup- 

 port we shall hereafter receive, and as a guarantee that our Magazine 

 shall not suffer in quality by comparison with its contemporaries, and 

 we sincerely hope that the number of contributors may be increased with 

 every issue. The field of Natural History is wide, and we ask every 

 labourer to enter the lists, and we can assure them that no effort shall be 

 spared by us to make the pages of " The Naturalist " in every way a 

 worthy repository for their observations, and an unbiassed exponent of 

 their opinions. 



