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a paper on ‘“ Weather and Flowers,” without some reference, 
however short, to him who was at once our Founder and President, 
and a great authority on everything connected with the Weather 
and Flowers, and who has been recently taken from us. I shall 
say very little, because I look forward to our Vice-President’s 
paper in January; yet something I must say. I have on more than 
one occasion tried to put before you the immense advantage that 
it has been to this Club to have had Mr. Blomefield for so many 
years, not only as our Founder and President, but also as one of 
the most active members even to the last ; and for myself I have 
always considered it a great privilege that he admitted me among 
the number of his friends. It has been a great pleasure in my 
life to have known many scientific men, but I can honestly say 
that I have never met with anyone who more nearly approached 
my ideal of the truly scientific man—always learning and always 
ready to impart knowledge to others—with no scorn for those 
who knew so much less than he did, and with no pride in his 
own great knowledge—never thinking that he had learned all 
that could be learned about any single thing; and showing the 
sweetest courtesy, and even humility to anyone who could teach 
him anything—patiently collecting facts, and noting them carefully 
but with no desire to twist them into fitting his own pet theories— 
thinking nothing beneath his notice even though he might not at 
once see its scientific value, but content to leave it to find its own 
right place in science, which time and fuller knowledge might 
allot to it, following in this and in many other ways his old friend 
Darwin, and like him finding that such pursuits, whether success- 
ful or not, made life happy and useful. More than once I pointed 
out to Mr. Blomefield the description of the natural philosopher 
drawn long ago by the wise man of old, and I may now without 
offence apply it to himself; “he had certain knowledge of the 
things that are, the operation of the elements, the alterations 
of the turning of the sun and the change of seasons, the circuit of 
the years and the positions of the stars, the natures of living 
