4*4 [Proc. B.N.F.C, 



rest in rocks or stones, you are at once taken for a mining 

 speculator. All this kind of criticism is governed by the utilitarian 

 standard, and is perfectly fair on principle, if the critic would not 

 insist upon endeavouring to put an economic value on everything. 

 Mr. Gray then illustrated how members of our Irish Field Clubs 

 have done good service in collecting and publishing information 

 on such subjects as our industrial resources, &c. He then 

 quoted authorities and referred to examples to prove that the study 

 of natural phenomena was of substantial practical value, and gave 

 illustrations from the history of the Club. He also stated that 

 some of the most nourishing field clubs in England are entirely 

 supported by working men, who have learned the value of a country 

 ramble and to profit by the enjoyment of the pleasures of Nature, 

 that no avarice can monopolise and no oppression can deny. 

 Interested persons may profess to sneer at amateur naturalists and 

 holiday geologists, but the whole history of scientific progress 

 proves that amateur naturalists have been foremost among the 

 leaders of scientific investigation and discovery, assuring us that 

 attention to business, the cares and vicissitudes of commerce, or 

 any other engagement of life is not incompatible with a love for, 

 and correct knowledge of, some branch of natural science, or with 

 successful labour for its advancement ; but it is necessary to re- 

 member that all really effective study of Nature must be thorough 

 and exhaustive. No fitful glances or transient enthusiasm will 

 add to our store of scientific knowledge, or extend the boundary 

 of the known. In the very effort to master any particular subject, 

 the naturalist learns to estimate the richness of every other depart- 

 ment of Nature, and is proportionately impressed by the superior 

 harmony, fitness, and beauty of all Nature's works; and in this 

 manner he acquires a new sense, in a special power of vision, 

 that the untutored observer does not possess. How quickly the 

 trained naturalist will detect a rare plant, an abnormal fern, a 

 characteristic fossil, shell, or insect, that is altogether overlooked 



