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are the leaves round the stem of a plant; but nowhere is the idea of symmetry 
so fully developed as in the mineral kingdom, where everything is arranged in 
the most beautiful and perfect regularity. 
The reason I have dwelt at such length this evening on these objects is to 
endeavor to point out that there is nothing, not even the commonest object in 
nature, that is not worthy of a careful examination. It is a great mistake, but a 
mistake which is often made, even by scientific men, to suppose that new know- 
ledge can be gathered only from the unexplored fields of science, when, in the 
most familiar walks of life, there are countless riches of truth which the reapers, 
in the hurry of the harvest, have passed unnoticed, and which will abundantly 
reward the careful gleaner. The French aptly express this thought in the 
provrb “Za Science court les rues”—Science runs the streets;” or, more 
freely translated, Knowledge is to be found everywhere, by those who will look 
for it, for it is so plentiful that it runs in the very gutters of the streets. 
Now as to the effects or defects of a special study. There is much 
to be said on bota sides of this question. There are many classes of students in 
the natural sciences. The largest of these are: Firstly, those who study merely 
for the pleasure it gives themselves and their friends, and the furtherance of 
knowl edge generally; and secondly, those who study simply for the furtherance 
of knowledge in some special branch. 
a 
There is, besides, another class, who are hardly’ worthy of the name of 
scientific students, who do so simply for what they can make out of it, in the way 
of reputation, or even money; this last class, Iam glad to believe, however, is 
very small. 
To the first class most belong. This is that class which embraces all those 
who, appreciating the beauty and splendour of the objects revealed in a study 
of nature and the amount of true pleasure they can thus enjoy, acknowledge the 
responsibility which is upon them, and strive to induce others to study it too, 
and so participate in the pleasure which they know iss» real. These men make 
utilitarianism their chief object, first, to make themselves useful to others, and 
then to induce these, in their turn, to do the same. ‘To gain this end they strive 
particularly to be as interesting as possible to everyone, always ready to give a 
helping hand, or explain anything they themselyes understand to those who do 
not. The work of these students is to popularise science, and to remove, as much 
as possible, that veil which the very word seems to have drawn over itself. I 
do wish that word “science” had never beenjinvented. I am convinced that there 
are more turned aside from the study of natural science by it than by anything 
else. People seem to think that, when anything is spoken of as a science or an 
“ ology,” that it is something requiring special adaptations and much study to 
