166 



He took it that those who were close observers would bo 

 of the very greatest iraportance to theni m the investiga- 

 tion of scientific matters, and that if they would give tliem the 

 results of their close investigations, the time would come Avhen 

 by a comparison of those investigations and of the evidence thus 

 obtained, they would be able to draw deductions which might be 

 still more interesting than the facts which had been put before 

 them that night. Hi' himself had been greatly interesting in 

 what they had heard. It had not been to him at all dry, but he 

 had been a little disappointed at the barrenness of the upper 

 cretaceous white chalk ])eriod which we enjoyed so much round 

 here, that we could not do anything to illustrate the subject 

 spoken about; but he did not despair that the remains of 

 insects would be found in that upper cretaceous period for 

 Great Britain. It would have struck them, as it did him, 

 that the investigation of the subject of insect remains threw 

 a light upon other things that they found in very low 

 periods, such as the lower lias ; they could tell what must have 

 been the surrounding state of things as to the woods, mosses, and 

 tun^i, and so on by finding that insects which must have existed 

 in those days Averc ol)tained, and that they remained even after 

 the objects ou whicli they had fed had dissappoared entirely. 

 They could never tell in investigating scientific matters what 

 light would be thrown on what they were about ; there was very 

 great encouragement, therefore, to persevere in close observation, 

 and the record of observations carefully taken was of very great 

 importance ; and that seemed to have been the forte of their 

 worthy essayist. On their behalf, therefore, he begged to tender 

 him their hearty thanks for the excellent paper which he had 

 read. 



Mr. Fakr asked the lecturer if he had ever examined any of 

 the deep chalk pits in this neighbourhood. 



Mr. Goss observed tl^at the chalk had not produced any- 

 thing, and he thought it had been pretty well worked. He 



