6 
Transactions of the Society . 
II. — The President's Address on some Doubtful Points in the Natural 
History of the Rotifer a. 
By C. T. Hudson, LLD., F.R.S. 
( Annual Meeting , 21 st January , 1891.) 
There is perhaps no position that so tickles our sense of humour as 
that of 
“ the engineer 
Hoist with his own petard.” 
That the digger of a pit for another should fall into it himself, that 
the biter should be bit, and that the maker of a new law should 
himself be the first to incur its penalty, are cases that catch our fancy, 
with a sense of justice flavoured with fun : and so if I, 
“ When caught myself, lie struggling in the snare,” 
I must be content to be ranked with the “wicked who is snared by the 
work of his own hands,” and must try to make the best of the position, 
even if it is one which lights up the faces of my audience with a good- 
natured smile at my own expense. For, two years ago, in my first 
address to the Royal Microscopical Society, unaware of the future presi- 
dential honours -which awaited me, and thinking only of the admirable 
summary given to us, every two months, by our able Editor and 
staff, I rashly said that no President in future would be able to take, 
as an obvious subject for his address, an account of the world’s 
microscopic work during the preceding year ; but that he would be 
compelled to follow Dr. Dallinger’s shining example, as best he might, 
and offer to the Society some of the results of his own researches. 
But we should beware of making general statements ; especially 
such as concern ourselves. Indeed it seems to me that the safest 
general statement, that can be made, is, “ that nearly all general state- 
ments will prove to be untrue ” : and so, in this matter, scarcely had 
I committed myself to what seemed a self-evident proposition, than 
I became aware that it no longer covered my own case. For, on the 
one hand, I found myself suddenly forbidden to use the Microscope ; 
and on the other, I had already in the ‘ Rotifera,’ in its supplement, 
and in my first presidential address, said almost all that I had to say 
on my own subject. Being then unfortunately debarred from further 
research, and having already told you all that I do know about the 
Rotifera, what remains for me but to tell you what I do not ? And 
such negative information is not entirely without precedent. “ A 
history of events which have not happened ” has been suggested 
as one that “ might enlarge our general views of human affairs ; ” 
and even a chapter or two of it has been already written. Again, 
it has been urged that a list of “ inventions not yet invented ” might 
excite some fertile brains to supply our wants ; and so perhaps a 
record of the main points in the natural history of the Rotifera 
