PEEFATOEY ADDEESS 
BY 
DR. GOBBOLD, F.L.S. 
To those whose minds are imbued with a love of Nature as she attires herself in the ever- 
varying attitudes of organized existence — to those whose sympathies extend to objects placed 
beyond the narrow confines of their daily observation — to those who welcome truth in 
whatever phase she is discoverable in the physico-vital records of a past and passing world 
• — to those who cherish glimpses of the Infinite, and would fain tear aside the “ veil that 
separates the seen from the unseen” — to those, in short, who “look through Nature up to 
Nature’s God ” — to such are we privileged to address ourselves ! 
The Museum of Natueal History is designed — in friendly co-operation with other 
publications of a less scientific stamp — to promote a sound appreciation of the scope and 
tendency of Zoological Science, and to convey an intimate knowledge of the structure, 
habits, and mutual relations of different animals. There never was a time when the demand 
for works in all departments of Natural Science was so wide-spread as it is at the present 
day, consequently we find Natural History information communicated to the public through 
various channels. In itself, this thirst after knowledge is a refreshing symptom of healthy 
progress; yet, we very much doubt if any permanent advantages are derivable from the 
perusal of those popular curiosity books and discursive magazine sketches which daily issue 
from the press ; because in them the ostensible aim is rather to gratify the imagination than 
to afford accurate and enlarged conceptions of the structural, morphological, and functional 
peculiarities exhibited by the multitudinous organisms which Nature unfolds to our view. 
Rightly pursued and understood, the sciences of Natural History yield higher claim than 
this. Zoology, Botany, and Geology are fit and easily accessible sciences for training the 
mental powers of observation, while, at the same time, if allowed to exercise their full sway, 
they are eminently calculated to advance our social and intellectual interests. 
In the daily walks of life, whatever direction our duties may take, or whatever character 
they may assume, nothing is more essential than a well-regulated mind, able to observe, to 
store up, and to form a correct estimate of the value of facts ; and the possession of an intel- 
lect of this discerning habit is of immense advantage, not only in the acquisition of knowledge, 
but in the formation of correct opinions. It is admitted, indeed, that in so far as the 
requirements of a man of narrow sympathies are concerned, a fair amount of the so-called 
common sense principle may be all that is absolutely necessary for his pecuniary advance' 
