158 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
which may be made at our meetings, so that not only ourselves, 
who may happen to be present, but also our members who are 
far away, will now be able to use them. (Cheers.) 
At our last meeting Dr. Lankester complained of a great want 
of papers. My next step was therefore, if possible, to supply 
this want; so I wrote to a good many friends, members of this 
Society and others. I should have written to all the mem- 
bers of this Society if I had known them personally; and I beg 
those gentlemen who have not heard from me, to treat me as 
though I had written to ask them to help me heartily, in making 
this Society a great success, so that we may take our proper 
position—a dignified position—and be a progressive and highly 
useful society; and never let us meet without an ample supply of 
food for the mind. (Cheers.) 
T have pleasure in saying that in this respect I have met with 
success. Dr. Maddox has at once prepared a paper, which I shall 
have pleasure in reading to-night, and Mr. How, of Foster Lane, 
is here to illustrate that paper. Dr. Wallich, F.L.S., has promised 
a paper “ On the Nature and Structure of the Polycyatina” for the 
meeting in May. Dr. Arthur Farre, Dr. Guy, H. Deane, Esq., 
J. Hoge, Esq., Rev. W. Reade, Dr. Bossey, Dr. Beale, F. H. Wen- 
ham, Esq., W. H. Milner, Esq., the Rev. F. Howlett, Mr. Dall- 
meyer, Mr. Beck, and others, have kindly promised assistance. 
Being thus far successful with practical microscopists leads me 
to address myself to the young microscopist. We must have 
recruits. To the young working microscopist, who hesitates to 
bring before us the results of his labours, for fear that they are not 
new, and that he may be told so unkindly, I want to assure them 
that nothing will delight me so much as to have their operations 
brought before us; and I pledge myself that every gentleman here 
will rather hold out the right hand of fellowship, than attempt to 
throw any discouragement in their way. It may happen that they 
may sometimes bring before us subjects which we have had before, 
but it is equally likely that they may show us something that no- 
body has hitherto seen or done; but at all events it will hold out 
the promise of so doing, by proving the ability to do so. 
Then there is another matter about which I wish to speak. 
There was a time when this Society was the only one that printed 
microscopic papers; but now the Royal Society and the Linnzan 
Society print these papers, and gentlemen think they have a wider 
repute by haying their papers published in the ‘Transactions’ of 
those societies ; and some have said that there is no getting a good 
paper here now. But I would suggest that those gentlemen might 
be induced to read some of the results of their labours at an ear- 
lier stage, for such papers are not prepared at one bound, but by 
successive steps. 
I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to say a word 
or two upon what are called failures. T'o others, too—though I 
put it particularly to the young microscopists—that I should lke 
to have a paper upon failures; for I know that when I look back 
