LOCAL NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 62 



After a short interval, the Rev. C.J. Taylor exhibited some 

 Enlargements under the Lime Light of Microscopic and other 

 objects These were exquisitely finished, and afforded much 

 instruction to those present. A vote of thanks was warmly 

 accorded to Mr. Taylor, and with this a very successful 

 meeting terminated. 



ON LOCAL NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 



On looking through the papers read before the Folkestone 

 Natural History Society during the past year, it appears that 

 though they are of much general interest, they have (with 

 one or two exceptions) but little reference to the Natural 

 History of the neighbourhood, the investigation of which 

 may be considered to be one of the first objects for which 

 our Society has been established ; I therefore venture to give 

 a few suggestions to our members as to the course their 

 observations should take. But before proceeding to offer 

 any remarks of my own, 1 will quote the following from an 

 article which appeared in a recent number of The Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, bearing reference more especially to a paper read 

 by Mr. Gulliver before the East Kent Natural History 

 Society : — 



" We have lately had occasion to comment on the healthy 

 activity manifested by our local Natural History Societies, 

 such as the Tyneside and the Woolhope Clubs respectively. 

 East Kent does not wish to lag behind, as witnesses the 

 Kentish Gazette of a recent date. That journal contains the 

 report of a lecture delivered at Canterbury on 'cell biography 

 in relation to systematic botany,' and comprising a summary 

 of Mr. Gulliver's researches on the forms of pollen grains in 

 various orders, the shapes of cells in newly allied forms, as 

 in Hymenophyllum tunbridgense and H. Wtlsoni, and on the 

 presence or absence of plant cr>stals or raphides. INIost of 

 these topics have from time to time been treated of in these 

 pages, and while earnestly echoing Mr. Gulliver's wish that 

 amateurs and members of local clubs should concentrate 



