NOTICES OF MEETINGS. 175 
been formed in connection with the Albert Institute, was held on Tuesday 
evening, May 17th, numbers about 80 members, and appears to promise a very 
flourishing career. The Rev. W. Gilbert Edwards, who has been elected the 
first President, presided, and there were also present Rev. A. Applegath, Rev. 
E. Hale, Rev. E. Tahourdin, Rev. J. H. Crowder, Dr. E. Norris, Messrs. J. 
W. Gooch, E. Pearl, P. H. Carpenter, Bullock, Lundy, W. H. Harris, Dyson, 
Fountain, Russell, &c. 
The President delivered an address in which occurred the following pas- 
sages :—Many members of this society intend to study nature with the aid of 
the microscope—and let me here say that the society is already beginning to be 
rich ; for through the liberality of Mr. Holderness we possess a microscope of 
our own, and one which the committee hope to place in this museum at the 
disposal of those members who have not one for their use in investigating speci- 
mens. It is only by means of the microscope that the earliest germs of disease 
can be known and much evil may be averted; much good brought about by 
the minute examination of fibres which would baffle search by the keenest eye— 
adulteration in food, fraud in the making up of fabrics, can sometimes only be 
detected by the aid of this instrument ; so that social and commercial interests 
are well served by a cultivation of its use. By way of commencement, it is 
proposed in the first place to hold a general meeting in this room on the second 
Wednesday in every month, to which members may bring a friend. We hope 
to arrange for the introduction of the subject of the evening by a paper, which 
will be followed by a general discussion, by the exhibition of objects illustrating 
the subject, and by a complete investigation of it by explanation in the more 
minute details. The next general meeting will be held, if all’s well, on Wed- 
nesday, June 8th, here, at 8 p.m., and our enthusiastic Secretary, Mr. Gooch, 
has kindly undertaken to read a paper on a well-selected subject, ‘‘ The Struc- 
ture of a Plant.” It is hoped that we shall be able to have some sectional 
meetings or classes, in which the elements of the several branches may be learnt ; 
and the Secretary would be glad to receive the names of those who would be 
willing to give a short course on any subject, and also of those who are desirous 
of beginning any particular section, such as botany, geology, or the microscope. 
The committee have already redeemed their pledge of forming a library. I have 
great pleasure in laying the foundation of this means of instruction by giving the 
volumes already published of ‘‘ Science for All,” and I do this the more gladly 
as there is no fear of the books straying, for our good friend Mr. Applegath has 
presented us with a stamping machine containing the title of the society for im- 
pression on our books and papers. The following books are already in hand: 
“Town Geology,” ‘‘ Hogg on the Microscope,” ‘‘ Science for All,” ‘‘ Carpenter 
on the Microscope,” ‘‘ Bentham’s Brit. Flora,” ‘‘ Oliver’s Botany,” Miss Buck- 
ley’s ‘‘ Fairy Land of Science,” ditto, ‘‘ Life and her Children,” and three 
magazines—‘‘ Science Gossip,” ‘‘ Nature,” and ‘‘ Journal of the Microscopical 
Society,”—will be taken in for the benefit of the members, under regulations 
put forward by the committee, who will make arrangements for the use of the 
society’s microscope. During the course of the summer we look forward to 
some pleasant excursions into the neighbouring country, and hope to explore 
the riches which such places as Burnham Beeches, the Riverside, the Forest, 
have in store for diligent searchers, and to bring back treasures which shall fill 
our museum, where there is plenty of room at present for specimens good of 
their kind well preserved; and it may be that we shall be able to compare notes 
with societies who have tastes in keeping with our own, and give and receive 
help from each other in our investigations and pursuits. 
Mr. P. H. Carpenter then delivered a lecture on ‘‘ Pond Life,” stating his 
belief that an oral address would be more interesting than a written paper. He 
first noticed the Amceba, or Proteus animalcule, remarking that Professor Hux- 
ley said not long ago that there were some who did not know whether to class 
it as an animal or a plant. It was very difficult to watch them through their 
