XYIT. 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 
By the President, the Eight Honourable the Earl Cowper, K.G. 
Delivered at the Annual Meeting , 17 th February, 1885, at Watford. 
Ladies and Gentlemen,— 
I believe it is now my duty to give yon an address. I will begin 
by a story of Sydney Smith. Many speakers and writers before 
me have been helped out of their difficulties by an anecdote about 
that distinguished man. Sydney Smith was induced to visit a 
phrenologist, who, after feeling all his bumps and carefully observ¬ 
ing his head, said : “ This gentleman is a born naturalist. He 
has probably written largely on ornithology, or perhaps has made 
deep scientific inquiries into the nature and habits of fishes.” Upon 
this Sydney Smith looked up at him and said : “ Sir, I don’t know 
the difference between a bird and a fish.” It is hardly an exagge¬ 
ration to confess that this is the case with me. You may perhaps 
say : “ Then how do you come to fill your present position ? ” The 
fact is, I took it because it was offered to me, and because, though 
I know nothing of Natural History myself, I yet feel that it is a 
most useful study, and that this is a most excellent Society. I feel 
at this moment inclined to apologise for having taken it, and sorry 
for myself and sorry for you that I did so. But I assure you that 
my regard for this Society is genuine. It is desirable to 
encourage those who have a turn for observing nature, and to give 
them an opening for the result of their studies. It is a great thing 
to teach the eye to observe, and this comes as you know very much 
by practice. It is also a great thing that a man should learn early 
the habit of committing his thoughts and his observations to paper 
in easy and clear language. I believe that an immense amount of 
good thought is lost to the world from want of this power which is 
so easily acquired in early life. I was talking not long ago to the 
editor of one of our principal magazines, and he told me that it 
was surprising how many papers full of original and sometimes 
profound thought he had to reject from their being put together in 
a hopelessly confused and unintelligible manner. 
These two things—how to observe and how to record our obser¬ 
vations—are taught by our Society, and it was my wish to encourage 
the Society that induced me to become President. Having accepted 
the office, which in other respects is not an onerous one, I found 
that it involved one very serious duty, that of making an address. 
