I902. The British Association in Belfast. 267 



selection in relation to mimicry and protective coloration was 

 opened by Professor E- B. Poulton. Many of the papers dealt 

 with various problems of bionomics, and comparatively few 

 were too technical to be beyond the capacity of the average 

 Association member. 



vSKCTlON E — GKOGRAPHV. 



In the Geographical Section a wide range of subjects w^as 

 under discussion. It is not surprising to find that the vast 

 extent of ground covered by the term "geography" results 

 in a frequent overlapping in the work of this and other Sec- 

 tions. Thus, the programme included geological subjects, 

 such as "World-shaking earthquakes" and "Charnwood Forest, 

 a buried Triassic landscape "; zoological, like " The rate of 

 formation of coral"; botanical, such as ''Geographical Plant- 

 groups in the Irish flora "; or economic, like " Colonisation 

 and irrigation in British East Africa." Geography/^;- sc has 

 not many adherents, and hence the attendance at the Section 

 fluctuated greatl}-, earthquakes and Antarctic exploration 

 drawing a bumper house, while at other times the attenuation 

 of the audience reached an extreme limit. 



SECTION H — ANTHROPOI.OGY. 



Next to Section A (Mathematical and Physical Science), 

 Section H showed the biggest programme, with forty-five 

 items on the list ; and in sitting for five days it was accom- 

 panied by Zoolog}^ and Botany alone. The address of the 

 President (Dr. A. C. Haddon) on Totemism was a useful 

 .summarizing of the present position of an important subject, 

 and the speaker's personal acquaintance with savage tribes 

 and their customs lent additional weight to his remarks. 

 Among the archaeological papers, Hon. John Abercromby's 

 paper on the oldest Bronze Age ceramic type in Britain 

 represented a very important piece of work, correlating the 

 early pottery of Britain and the Continent, and laying the 

 foundation of ceramic chronology in our countries. Mr. 

 Coffey's paper on the Hallstatt style in Ireland performed a 

 similar useful function for another type of early remains. 

 Irish archaeology was indeed well to the fore, with contri- 



