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NATURE NOTES 
love of flowers one of the most valuable forms of education. 
The true lover of Nature met friends at every turn and walk 
in life, who spoke to him and sympathised, and harmonised 
with his moods. The true lover of Nature always received the 
kindest sympathy. To him Nature lifted the veil and revealed 
herself to him and to no other. He agreed that every minister 
of the Gospel should be a Selborne advocate. Flowers were 
as Longfellow described them, “ The stars of the earth.” He 
who would ruthlessly destroy a flower was in a measure only 
less culpable than one who would destroy life. He had seen 
in a newspaper a definition of spring to the effect that no 
one could say spring had arrived until he could plant his foot 
on half a dozen daisies. Such a person, he considered, had no 
right to see another spring. Spring added to the pleasures of 
life by bringing flowers for man to see their manifold beauties. 
There were kindred Societies to theirs, but there was no Selborne 
Society on the other side of the world (Australia), where he 
spent so many years, but they had a Society, which was in 
sympathy with the Selborne Society, for the protection of birds, 
and he had only read in the papers which arrived by the last 
mail, that a man was fined 25s. with the option of imprison- 
ment, for shooting a bird known by the name of the laughing 
jackass. 
He then seconded the motion. 
Lord Avebury, before putting the resolution expressed his 
indebtedness to Sir John for the active and most useful part 
he had taken in promoting the Nature Study Exhibition of 
last year. It had doubtless meant an immense amount of 
labour to him, and although it was a labour of love, the Society 
was none the less grateful to him. 
The motion was carried by acclamation. 
Sir George Kekewich moved : “ That this Meeting of Mem- 
bers accords a hearty vote of thanks to the retiring Officers and 
to the Honorary Secretaries of Branches for their services to 
the Society during the past year ; and approves the election 
of Officers for the ensuing year whose names have been sub- 
mitted to Members.” 
The work performed by the Officers, he said, appeared in 
the pages of the Report itself. That work had indeed been 
many-sided. First and foremost, as he had taken great interest 
in the subject, he would quote the encouragement of Nature- 
study. The Society had encouraged the exhibition that took 
place in the Botanical Gardens which was so sympathetically 
opened by the Duke of Devonshire, and in which he (Sir George) 
took some part. They were now encouraging a similar exhibi- 
tion applying to the Home Counties. Nothing could be more 
educative than the study of Nature. That stfcdy opened the 
vast stores of knowledge which was at the very doors of most 
