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Aa address to such a society, if confined to the discussion of 

 questions arising under any individual department of science, 

 however interesting to the speaker or a portion of his audience, 

 could hardly be expected to fix the attention of the majority, 

 or result in any definite good. It has, however, occurred to 

 me, that I might profitably occupy the present occasion, with 

 considering how we may individually best discharge our duty 

 as members of the Institute. In doing this, even should I not 

 advance any positions having the recommendation of novelty, 

 I feel that I may at least claim the merit of having attempted, 

 at a humble distance, to follow the example of the distinguish- 

 ed individuals who have heretofore addressed you on similar 

 occasions, in striving to give a practical character to what 

 would else be a mere unmeaning display. 



In becoming members of the Institute, the only positive en- 

 gagement we make, is to contribute annually the sum of two 

 dollars towards its funds ; but I lake it for granted that no one 

 supposes that when he has done this, he has discharged all 

 that can reasonably be expected from him. If such were the 

 fact, and the like opinion should be entertained by all, it re- 

 quires very little of the spirit of prophecy to predict with cer- 

 tainty what would be the condition of our Society. Instead 

 of a library orderly arranged in suitable cases, we should either 

 have none at all, or else a confused heap of books, from which 

 any particular volume could only be selected after a long and 

 tiresome search. Our museum would not exist, or the speci- 

 mens composing it would remain packed up in the boxes in 



out being labelled or catalogued, useless for the purposes of 

 study or examination, and forming an unsightly nuisance. 

 Our treasury to be sure w ould be replenished ; but the mere 

 accumulation of money would not satisfy the ends of our in- 

 corporation, and might violate some of its provisions. That 

 we have a library, which though small is yet of inestimable 

 value for the purposes of the Society, and which, for its extent, 

 need shun no comparison with that of any similar institution : 

 that it is orderly arranged, and that catalogues of it have been 

 made with great care and labor : that we have a museum 



