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and the deli;^htful pursuits of Nature stuiy. It is, 

 as one progresses and realises the wonders of our 

 earth and of the so-called lower living creatures, 

 and when he has gained a proper idea of the evo- 

 lution of min and his place in Nature, then it is 

 he delights to take a broaier view of the universe ; 

 he placfcs himself, as it were, on an eminence from 

 which he may look back on the universe and for- 

 ward over the generations of men. He recognises 

 the vast hoard of knowledge bequeathed to him 

 by antiquity, the debts he owes to heredity and 

 eavironmenf, the laws which protect him and his 

 property, and government which givps him space 

 in which to work. He appreciates Art, because he 

 delights t) imbibe the individual impression of 

 some natural occurrence, he finds food for the soul 

 ia music and poetry, and not in any way the least, 

 he realises the debt, man of to-day owes to science. 

 Wfc are so used to use the telephone, tel graph, 

 and electric light, or even to strike a match for a 

 light, that very few give any thought to Galvani 

 and the frog's legs, or to any of the great army of 

 students ot Nature, who have, through their love 

 for investigating Nature, helped to bring science 

 to the position it now holds. 



We aG3epfc all the blessings of medical science 

 as a matter of course. A sufferer is now enabled to 

 be put into a state of unconsciousness, while the 

 delicate hand of soaie skilled operator cuts a frag- 

 ment from the nervous circle of the unquivering 

 eye. Natural force is rapidly substituting human 

 power, which should tend to give us more leisure. 

 Our very existence is due to science, for, on che 

 surface of this earth where dozens could once live 

 by hunting, by the aid of science thousands can 

 now live, and iu thousands of other ways does 

 science add to the intere.^t and variety of life. 

 But apart from the usefulness of scieuce--that is 

 its application to raising the material welfare of 

 mankind — there is another and a higher part 

 which science plays ; it is to enlarge the under- 

 standing, and to purify the hearts of men, for 

 there is no doubt, to the study of Nature, men may 

 always look as a source of pure unalloyed enjoy- 

 ment. This is the light in which I wish to look upon 

 science to-night— it is that influence of Nature 

 study which gives spirit to the man who has learned 

 to love the works of Nature. There seems to be an 

 increasing number of men with such inclinations. 

 Some are hardworking men with but little leisure, 

 occasionally such a man may be met with, journey- 

 iog for miles to secure a rare flower, or find a new 

 fossil. Often his fellow-workmen are looking on 

 and inwardly asking the question, does he earn a 

 farthing more, will his employer pay him more 

 wages, or can he thereby earn an honest penny ? 

 Not he, his aims are loftier and nobler; his prize 

 and payment is a far higher one. It is that of an 

 enlarged mind and peaceful heart.and his thoughts 

 are raised above the mere struggle for wealth and 

 position. He lives quietly and contentedly and 

 finds in the pursuit and study of Nature that peace 

 and happiness which alone such studies can give. 

 Considering the benefits derivable from Nature 

 study, is it not strange,that,even yet.comparatively 

 few people are able to see even a few of the won- 

 ders and beauties of Nature and probably no one 

 as yet is able to enjoy her wonders as they might do. 



When we compare one of our primoeval forests 

 with the woodlands interfered with by man, or 

 compare any genuine work of Nature with that 

 interfered with by man, to the cultured mind 

 there is always the truest beauty where Nature 

 has her way. Njt only does Nature study give 

 us that peace and pleasure and make life worth 

 living to the individual, but one cannot help feel- 

 ing, when seeing the errors, day'by day, which the 

 representatives of Man fall into, how necessary it 

 is that the education of man should be scientific. 

 We can only arrive at a correct knowledge of the 

 structure and life of a social body through a 

 scientific knowledge of the structure and life of 

 the individual who composes it and the cells of 

 which they are in turn composed, for the actions 

 of the individual depend on the laws of their 

 nature and their actions cannot be understood, 

 until these laws are understo:)d. Then in every 

 possible way. as far as I can see, it is Nature study 

 which should take first place in our lives. Some 

 time ago I heard a lecture, which I well remember, 

 by Mr. S. Horsley on "Man's Place in Nature." In 

 his last lecture here he asks and answers the ques- 

 tion, " What would happen if man were suddenly 

 and totally removed from this earth y The world 

 would go on just as it does now, we should not be 

 missed — except temporarily by a few domestic ani- 

 mals. Birds, beasts, fishes, and all the host of mov- 

 ing and living creatures would view our departure 

 with indifference— most would not know we had 

 gone. Kivers, no longer made subservient toman's 

 will, would continue to flow to the sea, the tides 

 would continue to ebb and flow ; and all Nature 

 would continue its course as if man had never ex- 

 isted." How different is our position to what it is 

 generally supposed. His words appealed deeply 

 to me, and often come up when we see the fear, on 

 the approach ot man, of our wild life. Is it not 

 ignorance which make man so inconsiderate to 

 natural objects ? It seems to be a difficult and 

 tedious task to attempt to elevate the tastes of 

 the people, and to show men how debasing are the 

 habits to which many of them are chained, and to 

 point out the direction in which they must tread 

 in order to be true and happy men ; yet I truly 

 believe that if our youth were more generally 

 initiated in Natural History as a branch of 

 education, we might soon see great improvements, 

 for there is nothing so exempt from corrupting ten- 

 dency, and in no rank would it fail to,work to good 

 ends. The poorest class of workmen would possess 

 richest flneness. The common soldier, if acquainted 

 in even a small measure with geology, botany, or 

 entomology, would have at command a means of 

 enjoyment which would make the dreariest of 

 home or foreign stations to him a paradise, besides 

 the researches of such persons both at home and 

 abroad would, we cannot doubt, help much to 

 advance science itself. 



I fsel that we all should have an insight, how- 

 ever small, into geology, simply for the reason of 

 expanding our limited ideas of time into those of 

 an almost infinite duration. To be able to read 

 the story of our planet, it is well to look around 

 us in our own district. We have seen the erosive 

 action of the sea around our coast, we find a change 

 each time we pay it a visit and can easily under- 



