REPORTS OF SOCIETIEa. 



215 



g.ep0rts of <S0tutus. 



Huddersfield Naturalists' Society. — 

 The second Exhibition of objects 

 of Natural History held by this 

 Society was opened on Friday even- 

 ing, October 14th, by the Right Hon. 

 the Earl of Dartmouth. His Lord- 

 ship has always been the firm 

 friend and patron of this Society, 

 giving them free access at all times 

 to any portion of his woods and 

 estates, which comprise some of the 

 best Natural History collecting 

 grounds in the neighbourhood of 

 Huddersfield, and in proof of the 

 appreciation in which this liberty is 

 held by the members we may state 

 that about three years ago they pre- 

 sented to his Lordship a very hand- 

 some case of Insects, all of which 

 had been taken on his own estates. 



His Lordship took the chair at 

 seven o'clock, and after congratulat- 

 ing the Society upon the evident 

 success of the Exhibition, both as 

 regards the number and quality of 

 the natural objects exhibited, and 

 its prospects of success in a finan- 

 cial point of view as evidenced by 

 the crowded state of the room ; he 

 alluded to a fact which had come 

 under his special observation this 

 year on his estates in Staffordshire, 

 viz., the unusual abundance of the 

 little insect vulgarly known as the 

 ladybird, (Coccinella 1 -punctata), and 

 expressed the belief that no animal, 



however humble it might be con- 

 sidered or however small its size, 

 was without its use and object in 

 the great framework of nature. Al- 

 though man undoubtedly had had 

 given to him power over the birds 

 of the air, the beasts of the field, 

 and the fishes of the sea, yet he be- 

 lieved that when man exercised that 

 power unduly by the destruction of 

 any particular animal, he interfered 

 with the arrangements of nature, 

 and was certain to suffer for it by 

 the increase of an animal of another 

 class. Thus when one of his game- 

 keepers waged fierce war against 

 the owls, the place shortly swarmed 

 with mice ; and when another de- 

 stroyed all he could find in the shape 

 of stoats and weasels, the conse- 

 quence was that they were overrun 

 with rats. Having referred to the 

 loss sustained to the science of 

 Natui al History by the death of the 

 late Mr. WooUey, who was a dear 

 oldfi iend and schoolfellow, his Lord- 

 ship observed that a book entitled 

 " Ootheca Woolleyana " was in the 

 course of publication, which he 

 should have gratification in present- 

 ing to the library of the Society, in 

 parts, as it appeared, not only out of 

 respect to the memory of his late 

 friend, but also with the desire to 

 place in the hands of the members 

 that which he was sure must add to 

 their pleasure and profit. His Lord- 

 ship concluded his remarks by an- 



