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animals with a view to an adequate benefit to the human race, and these penalties 
are daily exacted from the animal world for purposes of food, clothing, locomotion, 
of mere convenience, or even of sport. Asa minor premiss we have the com- 
parative importance of the object in view, the majority of people require to be 
instructed that very few experiments by competent observers involve much pain ; 
that few experimentalists inflict in a year as much pain as say one average sports- 
man does in a day’s shooting ; and as to the object in view a scientific education 
is almost necessary to fully understand that the progress of medical and sanitary 
knowledge largely depends upon their results, and how closely the advancement 
of science, on which, what we call modern civilisation is really based, is in some 
of its most important branches associated with them. I take this opportunity to 
express my opinion on the subject, as being one personally quite disinterested in 
the matter, having never made, and having no wish to make such experiments, 
but who believe myself well fitted by education to form a clear and just estimate 
of the whole of the facts. The question will no doubt assume a somewhat 
different aspect when we agree that it is wrong to injure animals in any way. 
But until this Brahminical doctrine obtains acceptance, no better justification for 
such injuries can be found than the advancement of medical, sanitary, and 
physiological science. 
Before drawing these imperfect and desultory remarks to a close, I desire to 
call your attention strongly to four Museum, i.c., to the Museum of the Hereford 
Free Library and Museum. I would not only ask you to present to it such speci- 
mens of natural history—especially those belonging to, or collected in the county 
of Hereford, that may now be in your possession—but I think we ought individu- 
ally, and as a club, to specially collect and preserve specimens for it. Duplicates, 
if of any uncommon species or object, would be almost as acceptable as objects 
for our own shelves, as they would enable a proper return to be made when other 
museums are willing to send us from their duplicate drawers, specimens we are 
in want of. I have already adverted to the small amount of real field work done 
by the [club, and, I might add, the. paucity of papers during the past few years ; 
always excepting the mycological department, where, both as regards field-work 
and papers, there is no lack of energetic vitality. I would suggest that the museum 
might be made the occasion of some most valuable work ; if each member of the 
club would take in hand some subject, work up its natural history as displayed in 
the county, and present the results in the form of papers for our club, and 
specimens for the museum, most valuable results would be attained. The greatest 
difficulty in the way of carrying out this suggestion, will probably be found in the 
ambition of individuals—I will not insinuate laziness—I fear that each will 
endeavour to cover too much ground, to work up, perhaps, the ornithology or 
the botany of the county. To reach the maximum of usefulness, as well as of 
uccess, the object of research cannot well be too limited and defined—a small group 
of animals or plants, or even one species will, if fully observed and illustrated, 
present abundant material for a year’s work, and, what is so important, the work 
becomes readily manageable—so much is the history of every species linked with 
