of the British Association. 110 



acceptance will be gratifying. " Est enim — valde decorum 

 patere domos hominum illustrium, illustris hospitibus ; idque, 

 etiam reipublicae est ornamento, homines externos, hoc libe- 

 ralitatis genere, — non egere." 



The British Association is a valuable appendage to the in- 

 stitutions of the country ; and I hope I may be excused, as 

 one very zealous for its welfare, in submitting to the consi- 

 deration of its principal managers a few suggestions relative 

 to some of the arrangements connected with its meetings. 



The scientific proceedings of the society must necessarily 

 be very much conducted in the sections ; but it appears to 

 me that the accounts which are given at the general meetings, 

 of the proceedings of the sections, instead of being almost en- 

 tirely confined, as has generally been the case, to a statement 

 of the subjects only of communication, should contain an ana- 

 lysis of the more interesting of those communications, given 

 in a concise and intelligible form. I need hardly refer, as an 

 example of the mode of framing such analyses, to the Royal 

 and other societies, where a short and perspicuous expose is 

 uniformly given of such papers as may have been read at the 

 previous meetings. 



The abstract which is so properly invited by the Associa- 

 tion to accompany any investigations of considerable length, 

 would assist materially in the formation of the analysis to 

 which I have alluded; and though there would be labour and 

 difficulty attendant on the plan proposed, yet I would submit 

 that whatever is laid before the public meetings, should be 

 brought forward in a form which may be as likely as possible 

 to be satisfactory to the great bulk of the members ; and 

 should always have the advantage of being communicated 

 with adequate powers of voice, and distinctness of enuncia- 

 tion. 



If the plan be persevered in, which was pursued at the 

 Edinburgh meeting, of confining scientific communications 

 entirely to the sections, it is the more necessary that some 

 such measures as those which I have pointed out should be 

 called into action, in order to give sufficient interest to our 

 public meetings; but I would venture to suggest, whether it 

 would not be expedient and advantageous, at such meetings, 

 to have some communications read, of moderate length, com- 

 prehensive views, and at the same time popular structure, 

 with which to animate and instruct the assembly. It would 

 not be an unworthy condescension in the most highly gifted 

 of our members to lend themselves occasionally to such an 

 object ; though I am aware that some may be disposed to 

 regard it as a little beneath the dignity of science to mix up 

 anything of the popular with our proceedings. It is, how- 



