192 OPENING ADDRESS—MACGREGOR. 
and persons who have scientific inclinations but no extensive 
knowledge, may therefore henceforth attend our meetings with 
the assurance that the time devoted to them will not be thrown 
away. 
The third department of our work consists in providing for 
investigators to as great an extent as possible the means of 
investigation. And this we are doing with greater or less suc- 
cess in a variety of ways. 
First, it is above all things necessary that investigators should 
know all that has been already discovered in connection with 
the Natural Science of the Province; and this involves the pub- 
lication, from time to time, of such papers read before the Insti- 
tute, as may be considered to contain new and well established 
results. Hence for the last quarter of a century our “Proceedings 
and Transactions” have been published year by year. It is often 
difficult to determine whether or not the results contained in any 
paper are really new and really well established, and doubtless 
occasionally papers are published whose contents do not possess 
these characteristics. But on the whole our Transactions will 
be found to be a record of continuous advances made in the 
knowledge of the Natural Science of Nova Scotia; and it is a 
source of legitimate gratification to us to find that scientific men 
and scientific societies ail over the world welcome our publica- 
tions gladly, and are ready to send us in exchange for them, 
publications, I will not say of much greater value, but certainly 
of much greater magnitude and of much greater cost. 
Secondly, it is necessary that investigators should have access 
to collections of specimens of the various species of plants, ani- 
mals, minerals, etc., which have so far been discovered in Nova 
Scotia, together with similar specimens found in other countries, 
for purposes of comparison. And it is therefore the duty of the 
Institute to see that the Province possesses a well filled and well 
arranged museum. Fortunately, however, this part of our work 
has been to a large extent taken out of our hands by an intelli- 
gent Legislature which itself has provided the public with a mu- 
seum, and has put an experienced scientific man at its head ; and 
our work in this department, therefore, consists in giving him 
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