76 rnocEEDiNGS or the maxacological society. 



year have been based on the study of systems and parts not usually 

 employed for the purpose. Pilsbry, from the study of all-round 

 characters, has revolutionized our conceptions of the Helices ; Bernard, 

 from the study of the ligament and hinoe-teeth of the Heterodont 

 and Desmodont bivalves, dealing with both recent and fossil forms, 

 has thrown a new light on the inter-relationships of the Pelecypoda ; 

 while Kohler and Plate, in the discovery of streptoneury among 

 Opisthobranchs and Pulmonates, have struck at the root of one of 

 our most cherished subclass distinctions. 



The field is wide, the prospect pleasing, and topics for investi- 

 gation suggest themselves on all hands. The discovery of a poisonous 

 Sj>ondylus ' bids us beware ; the observation that the sperm whale is 

 a trap for big game, in the form of gigantic scaly Cephalopods, 

 offers us sport undreamed of years ago, and the determination of 

 H.S.H. the Prince of Monaco to face the odds and make the most 

 of this,^ commands our admiration and respect. 



Returning to ourselves, we have cause for congratulation in the 

 progress of our Society : no deaths, a completed volume with which 

 to face the world, a Treasurer and Secretary intent only on advance- 

 ment, an Editor who finds his greatest pleasure in making good our 

 defects. We have passed through the critical period of our history, 

 and it becomes a question of resolve for the future. Let us then 

 leave jealousy and monopoly — sure signs of weakness both — to the 

 gi'asping ; and, remembering that by science we understand common- 

 sense at its best, and by the scientific method, observation with 

 confirmation and deduction, and rejection of the non-confirmable, 

 let us bury our differences before the altar of a New Morphology. 

 Doing this, we need have no fear for the future. Science, with 

 Love, now rules the world. 



As for myself, writing currente calamo, I have given free expression 

 to my feelings ; but I sincerely trust that I have done something 

 towards aiding development in the future, and towards fostering that 

 amicable spirit of brotherhood which has never yet shown itself 

 alien to truly scientific discipline. 



1 Eochehnme, Bull. Miis. Hist. Nat. Paris, 1895, p. lol. 



- Of. Comptes Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris, torn, cxxi, p. 1172 ; and Nature, vol. liii, 

 p. 225. 



