130 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
BOTANY THROUGH THE CAMERA. 
(Abstract.) 
(By W. M. Carnz.) 
We call our Club the Naturalists’ Club. A naturalist may 
or may not be a specialist. His distinguishing characteristic 
is a Wide interest embracing all Nature, which, in all its 
forms, he realizes to be the manifestation of that most wonder- 
ful of all things, life. He is a student and lover of life and 
the tools of his craft are the ‘‘seeing eye and the understand- 
ing mind.” The greatest of scientists are naturalists. Too 
many of us in Sydney who make natural history our hobby, 
particularly the botanical workers, are neither scientist or 
naturalist enough. The bird lover, the geologist, the student 
of insects and aquatic life are seldom satisfied with a name. 
To them the life of the organism studied is of importance. 
They want life histories and cannot escape the recognition of 
the inter-relations of the different branches of science, tho 
unity of life. How many of our botanical workers, of course 
excluding those who. have made botany their profession, are 
able to tell you anything of the lives of the plants they collect ? 
Can they trace you their history from generation to genera- 
tion, or tell you of their relations with the soil, and rain, and 
wind, and sun, and altitude, the insects, the birds, animals 
and even man himself? How many do no more than collect 
to build up an herbarum and to get a nodding acquaintance 
with as many plants as possible? The end and aim of botany 
is a knowledge of the life of plants. Systematic botany is not 
for the average nature-lover, but for the specialist. Collecting 
without a sufficient purpose is of value only as the collector 
keeps the specialist provided with material, saving that in- 
definable something that enters the lives of most people who 
meet nature on friendly terms. The naturalist gets this and 
more. He is a worker, a seeker after knowledge. He is pro- 
ductive. Let us instead follow in the steps of men like A. G. 
Hamilton, R. H. Cambage, C. T. Musson and others. They 
are the pioneers with us of a larger, fuller, and more satisfying 
field for the lover of nature. Little has yet been done, whilst 
the field is immeasurable. The workers are few, and welcome 
recruits. Each works in the spirit of the explorer seeking 
where much is to be found. And what matter if one attains 
to where another stood before. ’Tis confirmation and the dis- 
covery is still his. There is room for many explorers to add 
