A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



Xo. 51. 



OCTOBEK 16th, 1880. 



Vol. 1 



SOCIETIES. 



MAN is a 

 this tliei 



gregarious animal ; of 

 there can be no doubt. Even 

 in his most savage state, he does not 

 seek solitude, but the company of his 

 'and. So that he may have assistance 

 in his undertakings, and companionship 

 m his wanderings. That we owe our 

 civilization to this desire for association 

 there can be equally little doubt. One 

 man in a desert, might devise some- 

 thing or other that w ould improve his 

 social condition, but the improvement 

 would die«with him . Living with others, 

 all see the advantage offered and it is 

 adopted, and from tliis raised platform 

 the whole fraternity are ready for another 

 improvement whenever it may be sug- 

 gested. Thus step by step advances 

 have been made until our present social 

 condition has been attained. As with 

 our social life, so has it been with our 

 mental state. Learned men in ancient 

 times, gathered round them, men of 

 kindred mind, as did the Greek philoso- 

 phers for instance. The state of know- 

 lodged of some of these ancient schools 

 can only now be dimly guessed at, but 

 die same system which seems almost 

 intuitive, has been continued to the 



present day, when it is developed to an 

 unprecedented extent. Every separate 

 branch of Study has its separate Society, 

 or if, as in the British Association, the 

 objects are more general, it is divided 

 into departments each of which takes 

 up a separate branch as if it were a dis- 

 tinct society. While the metropolis or 

 the nation has these large societies for 

 the advancement of bcience, every town 

 of any magnitude has similar societies 

 on a smaller scale, and every one con- 

 nected with them knows the advantages 

 they offer. Besides the interchange of 

 ideas, and the free discussions that 

 take place at their meetings, libraries 

 are formed, and collections are made 

 on a scale quite beyond the means of 

 any private individual. Such libraries 

 and museums are an immense boon to 

 the student, but perhaps the meetings 

 of such a society are rather above the 

 grasp of the mind of a beginner. The 

 subjects that interest those who are 

 qualified to take part in these meetings 

 are much more advanced than be- 

 ginners care about, even if they could 

 comprehend them. Evolution, or Pro- 

 toplasm, or the voyage of the Challenger 

 are very well in their way, but those 



