250 Nature Study. [Sess. 
meetings. It was essentially a club for nature study, and that 
I believe to be our chief function still. 
The originality which we and societies like us should culti- 
vate is the habit of reasoning from ultimate facts. We want 
to read the book of nature for ourselves, and are not satisfied 
with any commentary thereon. “ What is originality?” said 
Emerson. “It is being one’s self, and reporting accurately 
what we see and are.” The originality which we students of 
nature seek is not so much to write original papers for our 
‘ Transactions,—there are far too many of such publications ; 
and a society, like a nation, may be the happiest which has 
no history: the originality for us is the habit of getting new 
ideas from natural things, and letting these sink like rain 
on thirsty ground, or rather scattering them like seed on the 
fertile soil of our sub-conscious selves,—our subliminal con- 
sciousness,—where they will in time bear a plentiful harvest. 
In this Society we have a microscopical section, and I must 
say a few words about it. The section, as you know, meets 
once a fortnight in winter—not in a public room, but at the 
house of the convener of the section. Out of a Society of 
two hundred members, we are not likely to have more than a 
score or so of regular attenders at the microscopical section. 
Should the number increase, we may need to change our 
quarters. At present we can all find places in the dining- 
room—lI was going to say round the hospitable board—of the 
convener of the section. Similarly, after our excursions in 
summer there is an informal meeting at the house of another 
of our members, to name some of the things we have found, 
and to discuss any points connected with them which may 
arise. This way of meeting at the houses of some of our 
members, if they are so kind as to have us, is admirable. 
These members have very serviceable libraries of books on 
natural history and microscopy, which can be referred to; 
they have microscopes and other instruments at hand to aid 
us should they be wanted,—and that is very much better in 
every way than to meet in a public room with a bare table 
and a score of chairs. Besides, these meetings show a most — 
praiseworthy spirit of enthusiasm and co-operation. 
As to the subjects studied at the microscopical section, it — 
has been our custom to take up a group of plants or animals 
ea 
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