1386 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST, 
partment of Agriculture, to exchange information with 
all sorts and conditions of men. There are many Richard 
Nancarrows, in their own quiet way, helping on the 
thought of the world, just as ‘there are others like Sir 
William Macleay who have made the best use of their 
wealth in scientific investigations. 
There is no greater power for good in the land than 
the country school teacher. Who but he can mould the 
thoughts of little children and give them advantages that 
their fathers and mothers very often never had?—and the 
more he can show them of. the wonders of nature the 
more contentment he can bring into their lives, and keep 
his memory green long after he has gone. Who ean esti- 
mate the value of the work that our friend, Mr. A. G. 
Hamilton, has done in spreading Nature Study investi- 
gations among the young school teachers ?—for every school 
teacher we can enlist in our ranks is not only a gain to 
this Society, but also to the Department of Education. 
After the end of this awful war, with every news- 
paper and magazine piling up the horrors with pen and 
picture, there will be, let us hope, a happier time, when 
people will return to nature, and, just as after the de- 
vastating Napoleonic wars of the last century, a reaction 
took place. With ‘‘the piping times of peace’”’ that fol- 
lowed, art, literature, and science again appeared with re- 
newed vigor, even the pastoral poets like Wordsworth, 
Cowper, Southey, and others reflected the restful minds 
of the nation. So will we have a revolution in thought 
with the passing of war and hate from our hearts, just 
as the earth will hide her scars with the sweet green grass 
waving over the remains of our noble dead. Our Empire 
workers will turn to thoughts of tolerance, Jove, and 
peace, and again take up the work of bettering the con- 
ditions of life for all classes, in which scientific research 
will play an important part. 
In conclusion, I would quote the following lines by 
Dean Albert W. Smith, an American writer :— 
The sunshine floods the fertile fields 
Where shining seeds are sown, 
And lo! a miracle is wrought: 
For plants with leaves wind blown, 
By magic of the sunbeams’ touch, 
Take from the rain and dew, 
