590 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Nature, — lier painting of marvellous beauty, — lier sculpturing of 

 unrivalled forms, — than in turning over the prints of man, or spending 

 time examining and collecting his effigies; surely as reasonable as 

 counting the pips on a card, as cannoning ivory balls, or bouncing 

 indiarubber ones over a net. We will not, then, push out of existence 

 the playing microscopist, for my own j^art I have for him a very 

 tender regard, being perhaps myself but little removed, if at all, 

 from this sj)ecies. In your name I will welcome all such to our 

 gatherings, assuring them that they will find here much to amuse 

 them if they do not care to learn ; but we will hope that in consorting 

 with higher forms they will imperceptibly, perhaps, yet surely, by 

 the force of association, put on new features, lose obsolete and useless 

 organs, and develop into higher and higher forms, and this not in 

 descendants yet to be, but in a conscious life-history. Again I say 

 we are delighted to find, and would gladly have more in our midst of, 

 M. deleetata. 



We advance next to M.evocafiones(sic), or the collecting microscopist. 

 This is only one of the somewhat despised forms: — 'Only a collector,' 

 with an elevated head and a righteous shrug, is a phrase often heard. 

 But in great economical systems ' mere collectors ' play a most im- 

 portant part. This solid world, with its fertile plains, is just a vast 

 collection gathered together by collectors, organic and inorganic. 

 And collectors provide the material for others to work on and work 

 up. The higher workers not infrequently have neither the time nor 

 the opportunity to collect, and, so far as the preparation of micro- 

 scopic mounts is concerned, have often not the manual skill and 

 delicacy of touch to be successful. Such must depend for their 

 mental pabulum in its raw state on others. And there is work of 

 immense importance to be done by the ' mere collector.' If such 

 cannot add to our knowledge by their own investigations, if from 

 their brains can come no world-shaking theories that shall make their 

 name and our Society's name familiar as household words, they can 

 add to the treasures of our cabinet, their quick-seeing eye can pick 

 out new forms, their diligent feet can take them to unexplored parts, 

 and their delicate hands can mount their finds in such a way that the 

 true investigator will be able to read with his glass, as in a glass, 

 natural riddles, adding to the world's store of knowledge. Our 

 Society cannot afford to despise the collector. Far from it ; we will 

 thankfully receive from any quarter, and ardently welcome, genuine 

 sjjecimens of M. evocaiiunes. 



31. tahernariiis, or the tradesman microscopist. A large and 

 growing species, every day producing novel varieties, and one that 

 in these days must be treated with no little respect. Utilitarianism 

 has invaded the old halls of science, and in these modern days not 

 one but many a philosopher's stone has been found in the crucible of 

 the chemist and the jar of the electrician ; and mean homes have 

 turned palaces, and common delf silver-plated, at least, through 

 fortunate discovery. Yes, gold in abundance has followed in the 

 track of the scientists. All this is but vero verms, nothing more 

 true. In saying the scientific plaything of yesterday is the mighty 



