Rae re ae PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 119 
highest possible amplification. I wish simply to enter a protest 
against the loss of time involved in the employment of unsuitable 
means. Whether we use high or low powers we should—in original 
investigations—be on our guard against the unconscious tendency of 
the mind to make “the wish father to the thought ;” and, although 
we cannot be altogether free from preconceived ideas, their influence 
should be limited to the suggestion of inquiry. 
It is necessary for a just appreciation of our own work (and that of 
others) that we should be well acquainted with the literature of the 
microscope. It is, however, already so much scattered that it is dif- 
ficult to ascertain the actual amount of knowledge on any given sub- 
ject, and much time is wasted in investigations which should be but 
past steps in our progress. At the same time, we should not too 
readily accept authority on matters difficult of proof, as a false idea of 
the state of microscopical knowledge is frequently given and doubt 
arises as to our powers of observation or the instruments we are using. 
I may instance the structure of some of the diatom valves, which, 
although demonstrated nearly fifteen years ago, was, in consequence 
of the erroneous views of Griffiths, Wallich, and others, held still to 
be an open question until, only last year, the President of the Royal 
Microscopical Society announced his demonstration of their structure 
as a “ New birth to the microscope.” -In making these remarks I wish 
to acknowledge fully the obligations we are under to men who have 
laboured so earnestly to our advantage ; and in calling attention to ex- 
ceptional error I am but endeavouring to provoke careful, original 
investigation amongst us in place of idle reliance on any authority. 
In the frequent intercourse of men engaged in a common pursuit,—such 
as it is the intention of this Section to promote,—lies the best substi- 
tute for individual experience; the knowledge acquired by any should 
be available for all, and errors of solitary observation are soon cor- 
rected when brought to the test of criticism and comparison. Most 
conducive to a true knowledge of objects is their examination in a 
recent state, and an acquaintance with the appearance of ordinary 
things will be found much more valuable than the settlement of a 
diatom or podura question. In the food we eat, the clothes we wear, 
the parasites that plague us, and the very dust about us, there is a 
large ficld for investigation as a necessary preparation for other 
studies, which has also an interest of its own in a time when the Pre- 
sident of the Board of Trade tells us that adulteration is but a form 
of trade competition. The poor Welsh impostor gave evidence of her 
fatal deception only a short time since, in the starch which the micro- 
scope discovered in her stomach; and many other instances might be 
adduced to recommend the study of common things. Our principal 
object, however, should be to inquire into the natural history of our 
own locality, the minute fauna of which has been but imperfectly ex- 
amined. Our shore offers every inducement to extend research. The 
smaller Crustaceans are scarcely known amongst us, although two of 
the most curious and interesting—the Caprella and Ammothea—abound 
on the weed at Kemp Town and give promise of allied species of 
greater rarity as a reward for search. Acorn barnacles and shore crabs 
are instances of strange metamorphosis, as are also the polyps, of 
