MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 241 
MIDLAND UNION OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 
ANNUAL MEETING AT PETERBOROUGH. 
ADDRESS BY THE VERY REV. J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D., 
DEAN OF PETERBOROUGH, 
PRESIDENT OE THE UNION. 
In the name of the Peterborough Natural History and 
Scientific Society, and as their President for the year, I offer 
a most hearty welcome to the delegates and members of 
the Midland Union of Natural History Societies who have 
honoured us by their presence to-day. it is with the greatest 
regret that I have to add, that I am unable myself to take 
any part in the meeting. Unfortunately an earlier engage¬ 
ment, and one from which I have found it impossible to escape, 
clashed with the time fixed for your gathering here, and for 
local reasons it was not found convenient to alter the date 
so as to admit of my delivering this address in person. It 
would have been a real pleasure to me could I have assisted 
in receiving the Union ; for though I cannot put forth the 
smallest claim to any knowledge of Natural History or Science, 
yet I am not the less sensible of the great value of such 
studies and not the less anxious to do what I can for their 
encouragement. It is my consolation to know that there are 
members of the society in Peterborough who can more than 
make up for my deficiencies, and that you will, therefore, have 
no reason to regret my absence, sincerely as I regret it 
myself. I can only wish the meeting every possible success 
and every member of it the utmost enjoyment during the two 
days of their visit. 
In considering what should he the subject of my address 
my thoughts naturally turned to the Cathedral. Under 
ordinary circumstances I should have had nothing new to 
say on such a subject. So many able and accomplished 
archaeologists have given us the history of the Monastery and 
' have discussed with infinite labour and learning every detail 
of the architecture, that little or nothing was left for a new 
comer on the field to glean. But within the last year and a 
half we have learnt a great deal about the central tower and 
the adjacent parts of the building which was not known 
before. We have been obliged to take down that tower, and 
in taking it down we have made considerable additions to our 
knowledge. Like many other misfortunes, this has turned out 
to be not altogether without its compensation. 
