( 66 ) 
friends, but it would also be pleasant to meeb 
youno; friends— some additional members. I don't 
know why you don't have more 
Younj? Recruits- 
why you don't have more tresh blood coming into 
your Society. I want you to carefully consider 
this point, you who are the officials ot this Society, 
and see il you cannot do more to enlist the active 
membership and the active work of young people 
in the Isle of Man. This is a criticism and a 
statement one might make against many natural 
history societies tliroughout the country, and not 
this particularly. I do not know whether it is so, 
but I have got the distinct impression that there 
are not so many young people devoting them- 
selves to the study of natmal history as amateurs 
nowadays as there were in former times— as there 
were, perhaps, 20 or 30 years ago. Natural history 
societies and societies of a like nature — geological 
and antiquarian societies — I think fiourished more 
in former years than they do now, and that ought 
not to be the case, tor there is far more education 
now. Of course, there are far more diversions 
for .voung people— I don't know whether it is 
oycling, tennis, golf, and so on. (Laughter) 
Of course, these are very excellent things in 
their way, and one would not say a word 
against them— one indulges in them oneself; but 
I hope they are not having, and will not have, the 
ett'eet of driving out of the lives of young people 
such exceedingly pleasant intellectual recreations, 
even if one regards them meiely as recreations, as 
the studj' of natural history. Then I hope the 
member of our Society will continue their member- 
ship, and not only so, bub that we shall have more 
member.'-, and that the members there are will 
try and do a little actual seiious work as con- 
tributors to science. As you all know, probably, 
Professor Edward Forbes had as his intention, 
when he was a young man in the Isle of Man, the 
compilation of a complete Natural History of the 
Isle of Man. He al'udes to it more than once in 
Jiis letters and his writings ; he did something to- 
wards it by issuing a small edition — Malacologia 
Monensis— which dealt wiih the molluscs and the 
shell lish of the Island, but we wish to deal with 
all the other groups of animal and plant life, so as 
to complete the Natural History of the Island, but 
he did not do so. He died a comparatively young 
man, and it has never been done. No one else 
has done it, and it would be an admirable piece 
of work for the Society to take up. We, who 
come to visit this part of the Island, and to 
work in this institution, will help you. This 
institution could do a great deal, but we only 
lay ourselves out to deal with marine life ; but 
there is a great deal of other work — land plants 
and animals to be dealt with. A great deal of 
valuable work has been done by members of 
your Society in the past, and I only wish that 
you should continue and that your present mem- 
bers should devote themselves as much as they 
can to taking up special little groups, however 
small, of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils, so 
as to complete in the end our knowledge of the 
natural history, in the widest sense, of this Island. 
We cannot all, of course, be Hnxleysor Darwins, 
or Edward Forbes ; we cannot all be great 
architects of science, but we can all do useful work 
in small ways ; we can, each of us, bring a brick 
or a handful of mortar to help in completing the 
fair fabric of natural history. (Loud applause.) 
The Kev, C H LEECE said ; As President of 
^lt9 Isle gf Um I^atural History and Antic^uarian 
Society, T would desire to express to Dr. Herd- 
man and the other members of the Liverpool 
Marine Biology Committee, our deep appreciation 
of the reception we have received here today, and 
particularly for the very interesting address which 
we have just listened to from Profe.ssor Herdman. 
1 am sure it is a great pleasure for us to be here, 
and to be allowed to inspect, uuder Professor 
Heidman's direction, the wonders of this new 
biological station. I represent a Society, which, 
in a small way, as amateurs, takes a deep interest 
in, and we aie endeavouiing to further, the work 
which scientific men like Professor Herdman are 
BO ably carrying out in the world. As President 
of the Society, I am sure I can speak for all its 
members when I say we are very proud indeed to 
think that the little Manx Nation has had such an 
institution as tliis e.stablished upon its shores. A 
few years ago I would not have dream c that such 
a thing would take place in r.'.y day. When I 
came down here and saw these ti.'^h sailing round 
in the tanks, and was introduced to them in this 
very personal way — (laughter) —it really opensup to 
my mind enormous possibilities, from an educa- 
tionalpoint ot view for the people of this, my beloved 
native island. I know that many people in the island 
have said : " What is the good of it? " We ask 
that about every new thing, and it is a very 
natural question to ask. Well, Professer Herd- 
man, I think, has impressed oa all our minds the 
enormous advantages which a work of this 
chaiacter has for the people of the district in which 
it is carried on. I think we shall all go away with 
a different and more enthusiastic idea about the 
work which this biological .station may carry out, 
not only here but in other places. You have 
heard that this institution was meant to fulfil 
three different phases of usefulness. It has an 
educational use, even to be here and see these 
creatures in the tanks, though they are not all 
full yet, when you think of it, nob only for those 
who dwell in this place but for the visitors. What 
a great pleasure it is to go round and siiy : 
" That is a dog-fi.'^h, commonly called a gobag," 
and so on ; and to be introduced to the various 
animals, and your interest in them is excited in 
a way it would not otherwise be. It performs, 
I think, three phases of woik in this way — from 
an educational point of view, a scientific point 
of view, and, I hope and trust, from an industrial 
point of view — if they are going to hatch 
lobsters, crabs and so on — they do not wander far 
away from our shores, and the fear that many 
people have that the fish we hatch will be caught 
by other people won't apply to lobsters and crabs. 
They will be deposited near our shores, and, 
when (hey grow big, our men will catch them 
and sell them at a good profit. It is not for one 
to go on any further, but I think it is right, 
at this stage, that I should give expression to 
our gratitude to Professor Herdman and his co- 
workers for the pleasure we have had in coming 
here today, and also appreciation of our Manx 
Government in having the enterprise to make a 
grant to build this beautiful station. I think ib 
says something for our Government that it is 
sufficiently go-ahead to make a grant to build this 
beautiful place Now I have to introduce to you 
our very energetic and valuable secretary, and I 
niay say, with regard to Professor Heidman's 
remarks about our numbers, that I grant we mighb 
have more enthusiasm and more work might be 
done ; I hope your remarks may tend to achieve 
that result) but, nevertbelesB, much ^uiet work i| 
