PROCEEDINGS OF PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES.

BIRMINGHAM PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTION.

THE Literary and Philosophical Society attached to this Institution closed its third summer session on Monday, September the 5th. Two of the papers read to the members were adverted to in the last number of The Analyst, which contained a detailed notice of the one read by Dr. Ward on the effects of the slow cooling of melted basalt. The papers brought before the society since our last number have been, one by Mr. Wickenden, "On the Geological Changes now taking place on and under the Earth's Surface;" one by Mr. Wills, "On Circumstantial Evidence ;" and one by Mr. F. Osler, which contained a description of an anemometer invented by that gentleman, for recording the direction, and measuring and recording the velocity, of the wind. It is the intention of the council of the society to make known to the scientific world this very ingenious and admirable invention of Mr. Osler, as the want of a good selfregistering wind-gauge has long been felt by all persons engaged in meteorological pursuits.

SHROPSHIRE AND NORTH WALES NATURAL HISTORY

AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY.

AN extremely interesting course of lectures "On Botany and Vegetable Physiology" has been delivered, by Dr. Wilson, before the members of this society. The first lecture was devoted to a consideration of the structure and functions of the seeds of plants. The second comprehended a pleasing explanation of the extraordinary process of germination. The subject of the third was the structure and functions of the stem. The circulation of the sap, and the shape and functions of the leaves, were illustrated in the fourth. The fifth treated of the respiration of plants. The sixth lecture was devoted to a description of the various modes of inflorescence, and a detailed explanation of the various parts of the flower, and their probable uses.

During the course of this lecture, the history of the sexual system in plants was concisely considered, and with the truest feeling and best taste the intelligent lecturer paid the following eloquent tribute to the memory of the immortal Linneus :-"This great man was born in the province of Smalland, in Sweden, in 1707. Never was the fame of any man of genius spread more widely or rendered more immortal than his. But however distinguished and extraordinary his merits, as extraordinary and various were the vicissitudes by the expression, correct feelings. Is it not, I would ask, an insult

of his fate, so rugged became the path by which he attained the climax of his greatness. His father (a clergyman) intended him for the church, but he himself preferred to wander in the fields, and was so very backward in his studies that his father, despairing of his abilities, resolved to make him a shoemaker; and had it not been for the kind intercession of Dr. Rothman, who perceived Linneus's talent, he might have succeeded, and the genius of Linneus would have been suppressed for ever. After making choice of the medical profession, Linneus struggled with poverty and its attendant hard ships. He was reduced so far as to wear the cast-off clothes of his fellow students, and even repaired his own shoes with card and bark; and not unfrequently the good-will of his college companions furnished his meals. Difficulties and adverse circumstances have frequently been the school in which great men have been formed ; they also served to build the greatness of Linneus: and whilst a less energetic character would have been crushed by despair, with him they were fresh incentives to perseverance. When the poverty of Linneus had sunk to the lowest point, fortune and his persevering conduct offered him new prospects. He obtained permission to journey through Lapland, at the expense of the academy; after which his fame increased, and honours fell thick upon him. Linneus was, towards the evening of his life, as happy as his wishes could make him, declaring that he possessed an elysium in his botanic garden. This joy was sealed by seeing his own son made professor of botany, at the age of twenty-two. What a contrast with the stormy paths he himself had crossed to obtain the high seat of honour and peaceful fortune he enjoyed! But he who had been the favoured of nature found her not propitious in his waning years; for the two last of his life might be said to be a slow and lingering struggle with death. Even after having suffered a paralytic stroke in 1774, his public services were continued, in some measure, till 1776, when his already feeble and infirm health suffered another shock. His nerves were now worn out, and his palsied tongue refused its office; he was carried, fed, and dressed, by the hands of others and during the winter, owing to another shock, his deplorable condition rose to the highest pitch. He expired on the 10th of January, 1778, at the age of seventy years and seven months.

Never were honours more deservedly bestowed, or more modestly borne, than by this excellent man. How exquisitely sensible his mind was to the vicissitudes of fortune, and to the opportunities his advancement afforded him of diffusing vast benefits through the wide world of science, is sufficiently shown by as meekly beautiful description of the humble plant, Linnæa borealis, named after him, "a little northern plant, long overlooked, depressed, abject, flowering early."

Keenly and undeservedly as his system has been aspersed by the advocates of other, and in some measure equally artificial, systems, it cannot even by them be denied that it is the most simple, the most complete, and the most generally available one ever attempted.

To its imperfections no one was more alive than its admirable author, who, well aware of the value of a truly natural system, laboured ardently, and in numerous tribes with great success, but still to his accurate and scrutinizing mind not satisfactorily, towards the accomplishment of this desideratum. His unfinished plan, as is well known, was afterwards extended by the learned Jussieu, and now, in fact, forms the basis of the natural system at present in use. The benefits which have accrued to science by the accurate observation and acute discrimination of Linneus, must be abundantly evident to any one who even cursorily glances over the pages of scientific works, and notes, in almost innumerable instances, the same genera, often the same species, and the very names adopted and established by this great man. Truly, and without fear of failure, may we predict, that whilst Science shall flourish, and her temples be incensed with the humble and sincere homage of her numberless votaries, so long shall the name, the discoveries, and the memory of Linneus, bloom with unimpared, undiminished lustre :

"Nulla dies unquam memori TE eximet ævo,"

In the seventh and concluding lecture, Dr. Wilson continued the explanation of the remaining classes of the Linnean system, and pointed out the manner of ascertaining the name and history of any plant, and the best modes of drying, preparing, and systematically arranging, specimens of the different tribes for the herbarium.

After detailing the scientific advantages of an herbarium, the lecturer thus feelingly alluded to the delightful associations invariably attached to such collections:-" But there is a result from making such collections, which, although unthought of and unsought for at the time, does not the less surely follow. For what botanist is there who, when he reviews his collection, has not immediately painted vividly before him the spot from which each flower was plucked? Does he not then revisit in his imagination, with feelings almost rivalling reality, every wild scene of nature from the rugged rock to the mountain glen ?-or, more tranquil, his thoughts lead him by the gently-flowing stream of the meadow, or he gazes on the ripple of the ocean which murmurs at his feet, till his blood running warmer within him, he remembers the very words and even gestures of dear and departed friends, the companions of his walks. 'Tis thus that the botanist learns to prize and cling to his plants, as all that now remains to remind him of those by whom he was best known and best beloved."

The learned Lecturer, in conclusion, alluded to the pleasure we all must feel in the pursuit of natural sciences, which," notwithstanding the aspersions that have been cast upon them as favouring self-conceit, and as being destructive to our best hopes, I maintain are pure and unalloyed, and which, if our knowledge be based upon the sure foundation of religion, must tend to very general improvement, and infuse into every grade of society what is best described

to our nature, for one moment to suppose that the cultivation of our faculties can ever be prejudicial to ourselves or to others? Can a man, who is fearfully and wonderfully made, know too much of himself or of the world around him, which, from the meanest flower at his feet to the glittering star which sparkles in the firmament, proclaims the power, the glory, and the beneficence of an All-bountiful and Omnipotent Creator?"

WORCESTERSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

THE ceremony of opening the museum of this society took place on the 13th of September; on which occasion upwards of eight hundred persons attended, including a large proportion of the inhabitants of the county and city distinguished for their literary and scientific attainments. The Bishop of Worcester entered the room about twelve o'clock, accompanied by the members of the council, and at the request of the Hon. and Rev. J. S. Cocks immediately took the chair. His lordship then proceeded to open the business of the day in a brief address, in the course of which he congratulated the members of the society upon the completion of the building wherein they were assembled, in every respect so admirably calculated for the purpose for which it was erected. His lordship concluded by requesting Dr. Hastings to deliver his address.

The learned physician commenced by expressing his regret that so responsible a task had not been intrusted to some veteran labourer in the field of science. "The dedication," he observed, "of this temple to science-this splendid edifice, which, to future ages, will be a monument of the zealous desire of the present generation to advance the progress of useful knowledge-should have been undertaken by some votary more capable than myself of making a suitable offering on its altar." Dr. Hastings then proceeded to shew the good results that are likely to ensue from well-regulated societies formed for the cultivation of knowledge; and, after making some apposite remarks on the advantages and pleasures to be derived from the study of Natural History, traced, in a very lucid manner, the progress of that science from its earliest rude and barren state, to its present advanced and promising condition; and, finally, laid before his audience a succinct account of the labours of its most successful cultivators. This very able and eloquent address was listened to throughout with marked attention, and frequently elicited very considerable applause.

At the conclusion, a vote of thanks to Dr. Hastings was proposed by the Rev. John Peel, and seconded by John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, accompanied with a request that the address be printed ;*

* In the event of Dr. Hastings complying with the request that his address be printed, we propose giving an analysis in our next number.

a resolution which met with the hearty and unanimous concurrence of the meeting.

After the customary vote of thanks to the chairman had been passed, the company separated, highly gratified with the proceedings of the day.

Previous to the delivery of the address the following gentle'men were elected members of the Society:-Col. Davies, Rev. R. Sargeant, Rev. J. Dudley, Rev. G. E. Larden, Rev. G. Hall, Rev. Cox, Mr. T. Waters, Mr. S. Dance, Mr. J. Clarke, and Mr. S. Stephens.

Upwards of one hundred gentlemen subsequently dined together, in commemoration of the event; the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of the Diocese presided on the occasion, and John Williams, Esq., officiated as Vice-president. Some admirable speeches were delivered during the evening, and it was gratifying to observe the interest which the prosperity of this Society appeared to excite.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

An Angler's Rambles. By Edward Jesse, Esq., F.L.S., Author of Gleanings in Natural History." London: John Van Voorst.

66

THIS volume does not pretend to be a regular guide, or book of instruction to the angler, but is an amusing history of fishing excursions, with sundry adventures which befel the author in pursuit of his favourite amusement in various parts of the kingdom; in which, too, will be found much information in the angler's craft. Its style, observational, conversational, and didatic, blended, is well adapted to the subject, and, now and then, an axiom and a reflection forced on the reader during the piscatory mania, help to give variety to the incidents.

We extract the following interesting observations on the "habits and instinct of fish," as affording a fair specimen of the author's style :

"Their gills supplied the place of lungs, and are filled with innumerable very delicate vessels, generally divided into four layers, which are attached to a corresponding number of little bones. The scales are covered externally with a sort of slime, which, as Blumenbach says, appears to be in a great measure excreted from small cavities placed in a line along each side of the body. That fish are capable of hearing, there can now be little doubt, from various experiments which have been tried to ascertain the fact. Their sense of smelling also, is very acute. Little can be known of their mental faculties. Some fish are more cunning and cautious than others, while the perch and trout are readily tamed and become very docile. The miller's thumb (Cottus Gobio) is the only one in England which appears to have any

VOL. V.-NO. XVII.

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