18 



" Happy New Year," and too early for that other, peculiar in its Yankee patri- 

 otism, the wish for a " Fourth of July," he would beg leave to substitute anoth- 

 er, to him, at least, as choice as either. In behalf of the early wild flowers that 

 adorned the table before him, in behalf of the fresh grass springing along the 

 brookside, the awakening hearts of flowers yet to gladden all our woods and 

 valleys, the budding wreath of every thicket, and the sprouting verdure of 

 ever}^ tree that, by and by, should shade our summer walks — in the name of 

 all these he would cordially wish those here a'ssembled the very best of a 

 " Merry May." He then proceeded to introduce the several early flowers be- 

 fore him, dwelling particularly on the Erijfhivniuni or Dog-tooth Violet, which 

 is not quite a lily, though nearly such, and bears to us the promise of other 

 and brighter lilies, pure a< alabaster or gay in ruddy richness, that before 

 long shall be a joy to the whole northern hemisphere. The Wood Anemone 

 was also noticed, and the Vernal Saxifrage, humble and unpretending, a 

 dweller among the rocks, with a heart to resist the fierceness of the winter 

 cold, and a petal white as the snow that just now covered it. The Wild Col- 

 umbine is here with its gracefully nodding blossom, all gold mthin and ruby 

 without, and though the botanist has named it in remembrance of an eagle's 

 bloody talons, its horn-shaped petals may better represent the mimic cornu- 

 copias that herald the burden of autumnal fruitage. The Spicewood is here, 

 but its early bloom has partly faded and the representative twig is but very 

 small. Doubtless it was not well informed of this gathering in its honor, or 

 surely it would have done itself better justice. He passed it only a day or 

 two ago, hung with its golden mantle in the thicket, but it whispered no such 

 information. Forgive the shrub, on another occasion it will meet you more 

 fairly. 



These are the precursors of a bloom that is yet to open on us in garden, 

 woodland and wayside. These are the earnest of the dominant spirit of life, 

 that, quieted but not extinct under the wintry blasts, now spring up again 

 to gladden aU the landscape. Let us welcome them for their cheering assur- 

 ance. Let us take heart from the promise brought by them, that the season 

 of genial warmth and life shall yet return, and though we may not, as ou r 

 ancestors, join the Maypole dance, with sport, and song, and holiday attire, 

 let us not prize the less the greeting of the vernal blossoms, that hint through 

 their quiet loveliness the profound relations and dependencies between man 

 and the flowers of the field. 



Prof. 0. W. Holmes, of Boston, was next introduced, and after briefly 

 pointing out the distinction between the simple and the compound microscope, 

 and describing the method by which the imperfections of the latter have been 

 remedied within the last forty years, he proceeded to speak of the more re- 

 markable improvements it has received at the hands of American opticians 

 and philosophers. 



1. Enlargement of the angle of .aperture. In 1852 Mr. Quekett said 

 in his well known Treatise, quoting Mr. Andrew Eoss, the most famous of 



