6 
Quarterly Journal. 
meeting. I hope the proposal for this addition will shortly 
be taken into consideration by the committee and members. 
Of books we have but few, for they may be numbered 
on one’s fingers ; but I think we may now look forward to 
obtaining more, and especially such as are of local interest 
and are productions in the colony. I have to notice that 
the following have been presented to the society:— American 
Journal of Microscopy and Popular Science, Quarterly 
Journal of Microscopical Science , Chemist and Druggist’s 
Journal , Beales’ Microscope in Medicine , presented by the 
honorary secretary, Schmitt’s Atlas of Diatomaceiv, purchased 
by the society, now comprising 13 numbers, several Parts of 
the Proceedings of the Linncean Society of N.S. W. 
I will now return to an important point for us to con¬ 
sider, if we are to prosper as a society. Not long ago 
I had occasion to defend our position as such against an 
imputation that we were not practical—that we did nothing 
which was of use to any but ourselves. I endeavoured to 
point out that in order to come to practical work we must 
first of all be educated to do that work—that such was the 
history of the Royal Microscopical Society of Britain, which 
for years consisted of men of all grades and occupations and 
tastes; and that besides doing much to advance the microscope 
as an instrument, by holding out inducements to improve 
its powers and the appliances connected with its use, there 
had been much done to forward our general knowledge in 
histology, and the outcome of all this has been the formation 
of a Medical Microscopical Society, in which medical matters 
alone were being advanced. And so it* V)C, in this colony, 
were to look forward to any such workers here, it would be 
promoted by the existence and work of a microscopical 
society, whose aim would be that of training men to work 
and carry on inquiry into branches of study which might 
not at first appear to be of a practical nature, but must in 
the end lead to the establishment of a class of workers who 
would bring forward work which would prove to be of great 
