CHAPTER XII 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY THE EDITOR (continued) 



As a public lecturer Miss Ormerod achieved a high measure 

 of success. The first effort in this capacity was made at the 

 Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, where as " Special 

 Lecturer on Economic Entomology," she delivered six 

 interesting and valuable addresses to audiences of about 

 1 20 students and professors on : (i) Injurious Insects ; 

 (2) Turnip Fly ; (3) Effects of Weather on Insects ; (4) Wire- 

 worm ; (5) Insect Prevention ; (6)(Estridae Warble or Bot 

 Flies. The first was given in October, 1881, and the last in 

 June, 1884. On the first occasion Lord Bathurst, one of 

 the Governors of the College, was present, and Miss 

 Ormerod was placed between Principal McClellan on the 

 one hand and Professor Harker (biology) on the other, as 

 her sister Georgiana humorously remarked afterwards, 

 "for fear her courage should fail and she run away." 

 Her anxieties in the new capacity knew no bounds. 



Although extremely nervous and anxious she succeeded in 

 concealing this from an attentive and appreciative audience, 

 and made an excellent appearance. 1 She declared that 

 while walking from the drawing-room to the large lecture 

 theatre at the opposite corner of the college quadrangle she 

 could not utter a word, and on this, as on other somewhat 

 similar exciting occasions, she experienced a drumming in 

 her head which she failed to moderate by any attempted 

 remedial measures. After about three years' experience as a 

 supernumerary member of the college staff, it was found 

 that the preliminary preparation of the lectures was robbing 

 her steadily increasing general work of time which was 

 inconveniently spared, and, although it was considered an 

 honour to be invited to give special lectures, she felt it to be 

 a duty to her main work to retire. 



1 The Editor, having been present, is able to give this statement on 

 his own authority. 



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