14 



and with the greatest pleasure. Whatever trouble he had 

 experienced had heen most amply repaid by the acquaint- 

 ances he had made and the friendships established by being 

 brought into the society of jrentlemen with like tastes and 

 congenial pursuits — acquaintances and friendships which he 

 hoped to retain in future years. Societies of that descrip- 

 tion, in order to succeed, must be conducted on a combi- 

 nation of popular and scientific principles. It would be 

 impossible to muster a sufficient number of scientific mem- 

 bers to give the society a purely scientific basis ; and hence 

 they found it necessary to make it as nearly as they 

 could scientific and popular. Mr. Dowker then pro- 

 ceeded to refer with gratification to the great progress lately 

 made in the science of natural history, and concluded by 

 directing attention to a number of cheap microscopes which 

 had been forwarded to him from Birmingham for exhibition 

 at the meeting. 



The Chairman remarked that he was a guilty man, in 

 some respects, with regard to the destruction of sparrows 

 by means of poisoned grains. If a man had the pleasure 

 to reside in a house which was incumbered with an 

 immense quantity of ivy he was sure to be pestered 

 with far more than a fair proportion of the sparrows 

 in his neighbourhood. During the week it was all very 

 well, for, when the gardener was at work, of course 

 the sparrows had not much chance of doing any great 

 amount of mischief. It was on the Sunday the greatest 

 destruction was committed, when the gardener was not at 

 work, and when the members of his family were at the 

 Cathedral. They were sure to find on the following day 

 that the sparrows had destroyed all the crocuses. The 

 gardener gave them a quantity of poisoned grains, and 

 numbers of them were soon strewed about the garden. If 

 Coptain Cox could suggest any other means of getting rid 

 of the annoyance he (the Chairman) should be very glad 

 to adopt it. 



The Rev. F. T. Scott, in proposing a rote of thanks to 



