PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 95 
whether he may reasonably expect to find gold in a particular geological 
formation, or when the farmer is pestered with parasites that destroy his 
crops, the men whose advice they seek are often those whose scientific 
tastes have been formed by taking part in such rambles as these, and whose 
habits of accurate observation have been then acquired. If there are any 
who regard the Field Naturalists’ Section as one of doubtful advantage, let 
them bear these facts in mind. However great our scientific attainments 
may be, the most accomplished are still adding to their store of knowledge, 
and can scarcely fail to sympathise with the beginners, who, though they 
follow at distance, are, nevertheless, journeying in the same direction, and 
labouring for the same good cause. 
It is disappointing to have still to hold our meetings in a room for the 
use of which the Society is indebted to the Trustees of the Museum. In 
consequence of this it is impossible to give members free access to the 
many valuable books and pamphlets which have been presented to the 
Society by numerous donors. It is, however, in some degree consoling to 
reflect that, although our quarters are somewhat cramped, the surroundings 
are by no means out of keeping with the objects of the Society. The 
galleries and cases in the building above our heads are filled with objects of 
scientific interest, and the valuable collections not only represent the things 
they are, but they suggest and invite inquiry into their own history. Our 
own books, which are carefully packed away in cases, where they are not 
always within reach are, after all, but human interpretations of the writing 
of the highest of all powers—the Maker of the globe on whose surface we 
reside. Even those early records that have been handed down through 
many centuries by the instrumentality of the Hittite tablets, are modern as 
compared with the geological history that was written tens of thousands of 
years before man existed; and those who devote themselves to the study of 
the rock tablets, cannot fail to have their minds enlarged and their intelli- 
gence sharpened by being brought. as it were, into touch with the great 
Scribe who wrote these things for our learning. The Hittite and later 
hieroglyphics are probably not wholly impartial records of an earlier human 
race, but the rock tablets supply Nature’s own indisputable tale of the con- 
dition of the world from its first beginnings. Much, therefore. as we may 
desire to carry on our work in rooms of our own, speaking for myself, I 
shall regret to have our meetings disassociated from surroundings that are 
so largely connected with our studies. 
In conclusion, I have to ask your pardon for adopting a tone in my 
address which may appear not wholly suited to an occasion such as the 
present. When you did me the honour to elect me your President for the 
year, I felt that there were others whose greater knowledge of scientific 
subjects entitled them to precedence to myself, and in addressing you this 
evening, I am still conscious of my own deficiency, and hesitate to speak in 
a manner that might be mistaken for an assumption of wisdom that I do 
not claim. I have not yet forgotten my own difficulties in learning, when 
for many years I was surrounded with innumerable objects of interest 
that robbed ‘the bush” of the monotony and dulness with which it is so 
often unjustly credited. Remembering distinctly what those difficulties 
were, and desiring above all to help others who are in similar plight, I have 
attempted to suggest to younger students thoughts which, if followed up by 
inquiry, must lead them in the right direction, and if it should do nothing 
more, will at least teach them to sympathise with the workers in the great 
