2 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



and to lose knowledge of and sympathy with the work of 

 others, and the sense of proportion that should make their 

 own work sane and true. Even within the narrow limits of 

 the special study the work fails, crushed under the accumula- 

 tions of materials that will not be fitted into a coherent 

 scheme, or defective through the difficulty of ascertaining 

 what has been already published on the same subject. 

 There have been, and there are, numerous societies in 

 Scotland whose object has been to add to what was already 

 known of the natural history of the country ; and outside 

 the work of the societies there have been issued numerous 

 books and papers in journals, forming a mass of information 

 of large amount and of much worth, if only it could be made 

 readily accessible. But much of it is buried almost beyond 

 reach, and a relatively small part alone can be made full 

 use of. The influence of this literature as a whole on the 

 study of the natural history of Scotland is hurtful rather 

 than helpful while it cannot be properly utilised, as the 

 vague knowledge of its existence tends to disguise how 

 very much remains to be done, and the effort to search 

 out the records consumes much time that can ill be 

 spared. 



The societies that existed in Scotland a century ago 

 included inquiries into the natural history only as a part of 

 their proceedings ; yet the small number of publications 

 issued in any form made it comparatively easy to follow 

 all that was being done. But for many years it has been 

 almost impossible to ascertain all that has been issued. 

 Many societies have been formed, most of them strictly 

 limited in their scope, either to certain counties or districts, 

 or to certain subjects. Among the most successful are those 

 that restrict their publications strictly within the limits in- 

 dicated by their names ; and numerous valuable contributions 

 have been issued by these societies. But for the most part 

 these publications are issued only to the members of each 

 society, or in exchange with other societies, and this makes 

 it almost impossible for a worker to have access to some of 

 these publications. When we turn to the papers issued in 

 journals the practical difficulty is hardly less ; for we find 

 them scattered through numerous publications, each usually 



