338 SCIENCE IN Rupert's land. 



spirit of research among ourselves ? There is one present,* who n 

 the midst of a laborious life, has often stolen hours from rest, looking 

 with curious eye into the mysteries of nature, scrutinizing the beauti- 

 ful texture of the insect's wing, or minutely examining the wild 

 flower of the Prairie or the Bay. Another too there is, holding the 

 same rank in the Hon. Company's service, whose best energies have, 

 for many years, been given to the cause ; who has pursued it unin- 

 termittingly, whether at Martin's Falls, at Norway House, or as I last 

 saw him, full of the one topic, on the shores of Lake Superior. The 

 name of Mr. Barnston is not unknown in Britain as that of a scien- 

 tific collector, and his valuable contribution of insects from this 

 country may be seen in the Entomological Department of the British 

 Museum." 



Dr. Schultz, in addressing the meeting, sought to indicate the field 

 of scientific labour to be overtaken by the new Institute, and to stimu- 

 late its members to a hearty co-operation by further reference to 

 scientific labours already successfully carried out in their midst : — 

 "First," he remarked, "we shall be expected to give accurate scientific 

 information on the Botany, Zoology, Geology, Ethnology, Meteor- 

 ology, and Physical Geography of this country ; to collect and ex- 

 change specimens with Societies of a like character, to publish the 

 results of our researches, to give lists of specimens collected, and to 

 correct the maps of this country. Here, we shall be expected to im- 

 prove the condition of the country by encouraging the Arts and Manu- 

 factures, making experiments on the native plants, introducing new 

 plants and seeds ; by establishing a Library and Museum, and if as- 

 sisted, an Observatory ; and to answer those expectations, what have 

 we done ; what are we doing ; and what can we do ? In the * JFauna 

 Boreali Americani' I note the following passage by Sir John Richard- 

 son : • Science is indebted to the exertions of the Hudson Bay Com- 

 pany for all that is known of the Ornithology of the American fur coun- 

 tries,' and he goes on to specify the labours and contributions of many 

 officers of that company in this country — Mr. Light, Mr. Islam, Mr. 

 Graham, Mr. Martin, Mr. Hutchins (who made valuable contributions 

 on the habits of the northern birds), Mr. David Douglas, and others. 

 This is what has been done in Ornithology alone; and Zoology, Botany, 

 Meteorology, and Geology are also largely indebted to those and other 



* W. Mactavisli, Governor of Assiniboia, whose valuable collections of Natural History 

 ?ec«ived the thanks and acknowledgments of the Smithsouiau Institution in 1861. 



