37 



Shellness, where some landed to make an inspection of the 

 shore, but uul'ovtunatcly it being nearly high tide they did 

 not make much progress. Returning on board ship, they 

 tried the dredge again, but without success. He hoped on 

 any future occasion when the East Kent Natural History 

 Society might favour Dover for a marine excursion, they 

 would adopt the suggestion of Mr. Irons, and go in the har- 

 bour tug down to Dungeness, where they were likely to be 

 more successful than they had been at St. Margaret's. This 

 Would be a nice day out, and he hoped the Society would 

 avail themselves of the opportunity for such a delightful 

 marine excursion. He was very glad that all their friends 

 who had joined them that day had enjoyed themselves so 

 much ; and he thought the present was about as successful 

 and enjoyable an excursion as they could have desired. 

 (Hear, hear.) Before sitting down he begged to pro- 

 pose the health of Col. Cox, their worthy president ; he was 

 a gentleman who took a deep interest in natural history, 

 and without whose energy the Society could not exist. As 

 an humble local officer, he felt much pleasure in serving 

 under such a colonel, and he hoped he would long have the 

 happiness of seeing Col. Cox at the head of the Society* 

 and leading them on in the pursuit of natural history. (Ap- 

 plause.) 



Lieut. -Col. Cox returned his warmest thanks for the 

 compliment paid him. He was simply a pioneer in the 

 pursuit of natural iiistory, which was like a flowing river 

 opening up new wonders for study as it advanced. The ob- 

 ject of this Society was to do some good ; and if they could 

 only inculcate in the younger branches a taste for the pur- 

 suit of natural history ; if they could bring their children to 

 see that God had made these creatures (or our use and not 

 for our abuse ; that things so beautiful existed in the 

 ground, in the air, and under the water, so that they might 

 have sonietliiiig belter to think of than the follies and 

 frivolities which surruuuJ them — then the Society would 



