: ADDRESS. XXXV 
_ them objects well-worthy of your notice. The report of Sir John Richardson 
ay in the last volume, on the Fishes of China, Japan and New Zealand, when 
_ coupled with his account in former volumes of the Fauna of North America, 
_ may be regarded as having completely remodelled our knowledge of the 
_ geographical distribution of fishes; first by affording the data, and next by 
explaining the causes through which a community of ichthyological characters 
_ is in some regions widely spread, and in others restricted to limited areas. 
_ We now know, that just as the lofty mountain is the barrier which separates 
_ different animals and plants, as well as peculiar varieties of man, so the deepest 
seas are limits which peremptorily check the wide diffusion of certain genera 
and species of fishes; whilst the interspersion of numerous islands, and still 
more the continuance of lands throughout an ocean, ensures the distribution 
of similar forms over many degrees of latitude and longitude. 
The general study, indeed, both of zoology and botany has been sin- 
gularly advanced by the labours of the Section of Natural History. I cannot 
have acted for many years as your General Secretary without observing, 
that by the spirit in which this Section has of late years been conducted, 
British naturalists have annually become more philosophical, and have given 
to their inquiries a more physiological character, and have more and more 
studied the higher questions of structure, laws and distribution. This 
cheering result has mainly arisen from the personal intimacy brought about 
among various individuals, who, living at great distances from each other, 
were previously never congregated; and from the mutual encouragement 
imparted by their interchange of views and their comparisons of specimens. 
Many active British naturalists have in fact risen up since these Meetings 
commenced, and many (in addition to the examples already mentioned) have 
pursued their science directly under the encouragement we have given them. 
The combination of the enthusiastic and philosophic spirit thus engendered 
among the naturalists, has given popularity to their department of science, 
and this Section, assuming an importance to which during our earliest Meet- 
ings it could show comparatively slender claims, has vigorously revived the 
study of natural history, and among other proofs of it, has given rise to that 
useful publishing body the Ray Society, which holds its anniversary du- 
ring our sittings. Any analysis of the numerous original and valuable re- 
ports and memoirs on botanical and zoological subjects which have occupied 
_ our volumes is forbidden by the limits of this address, but I cannot omit to 
_ advert to the extensive success of Mr. H. Strickland’s report on Zoological 
Nomenclature, which has been adopted and circulated by the naturalists of 
France, Germany, Sweden and America, and also by those of Italy headed 
by the Prince of Canino. In each of these countries the code drawn up by 
_ the Association has been warmly welcomed, and through it we may look 
; forward to the signal advantage being gained, of the adoption of an uniform 
_ zoological nomenclature all over the globe. ; 
Whilst investigations into the geographical distribution of animals and plants 
have occupied a large share of the attention of our Browns and our Darwins, 
it is pleasing to see that some members, chiefly connected with physical 
_ researches, are now bringing these data of natural history to bear upon 
climatology and physical geography. A committee of our naturalists, to 
whom the subject was referred, has published in our last volume a good 
‘series of instructions for the observation of the periodical phenomena of 
animals and plants, prepared by our foreign associate M. Quetelet, the 
Astronomer Royal of Belgium. Naturalists have long been collecting ob- 
servations on the effects produced by the annual return of the seasons, but 
their various natural-history calendars being local, required comparison and 
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