 1900-1901.] Nature Study. 251 
alternately. We had, for example, Alge one winter and 
Crustacea another. The section has resolved, and I think 
_ wisely, this winter to take the memoirs on “Typical British 
_ Marine Plants and Animals” issued by the Liverpool Marine 
_ Biology Committee, taking one memoir after another, having 
demonstrations, and making microscopical sections. The aim 
_ of the section is to help each other to use the microscope with 
_ skill, so as to increase our knowledge of natural things,—to 
_ extend, in short, our mental horizon. I would emphasise the 
word use. It would be a waste of time for us to try to follow 
recent elaborate researches on the cell, but we can all have 
_ glimpses, and very impressive glimpses, into nature’s work- 
shop. We do not expect to see centrosomes or to follow their 
mystic dances, but we can all see for ourselves the movements 
of living protoplasm in Tradescantia. It is quite easy to 
_ fertilise Echini in spring and follow the early stages of the 
building up of an animal, and by the not undue use of the 
scientific imagination we can understand that fertilisation is 
intimately connected with osmosis or electrolysis. Then occa- 
sionally we may be able to show to each other an example to 
illustrate some spirit-stirring new discovery, such as double 
fertilisation in plants. In a word, our aim is to use the 
microscope rather as an instrument of culture than one of 
research, and there is no instrument which serves that end 
better than a microscope. 
I am glad the number of our members keeps up, for we 
never canvass for recruits——we employ no commercial tra- 
_vellers. We know a little—a very little—of the wonderful 
universe into which it has been our privilege to be born; we 
want to know more of it, and we should like others to know 
‘more of it too. 
_ The undertone which runs through this address may be 
well summed up in a few lines from Russell Lowell, with 
which I shall conclude :— 
“For a cap and bells our lives we pay, 
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul’s tasking ; 
*Tis heaven alone that is given away, 
"Tis only God may be had for the asking. 
No price is set on the lavish summer ; 
June may be had by the poorest comer.” 
—“ The Vision of Sir Launfal.” 
