176 NOTES ON RKPORT OF CONFERENCE OF nEI.KfJATES 



some uniform plan of photographing geological subjects should be 

 adopted. Also that the plates used should be orthochroniatic or 

 isochromatic. 



The co-operation of the Corresponding Societies was also sought 

 by the Committee appointed to consider the Circulation of Under- 

 ground Waters in the permeable formations of England ; by that to 

 record the positions of Erratic Blocks ; and by that appointed to 

 collect evidence on the rate of erosion of the sea coasts of England 

 and Wales. 



The two subjects, however, which caused most discussion at 

 Edinburgh were the disappearance of native plants and the 

 destruction of wild birds' eggs. As regards the native plants, an 

 interesting letter from Mr. Leo Grindon was read dealing with their 

 disappearance in the district within a radius of fifteen miles round 

 Manchester. Mr. Grindon remarked that the wild, uncultivated 

 moorlands had remained unchanged. But agricultural improve- 

 ments, which had converted peatmosses and sandy wastes into 

 comparatively fertile land, had caused the local disappearance of 

 certain moss and moor plants, while the dye-polluted streams were 

 forsaken by the Forget-me-not and other water-loving species. As 

 regards the wilful destruction of plants, Mr. Grindon thought that 

 the herb-doctors or " medical botanists " had caused much destruc- 

 tion of those supposed to have medicinal value, such as the 

 Erythroea ce?itaurium. Dealers in roots for gardens also caused 

 much damage, as they sometimes completely stripped certain spots 

 of certain kinds of ferns, of primroses, and of cowslips. Rev. Canon 

 Tristram added that in Durham, during his lifetime, some of the 

 most interesting species of plants and also some of the most remark- 

 able varieties of butterflies and moths had been thus exterminated. 



It would be interesting to know the experience of Essex botanists 

 and entomologists in this matter. On the one hand there can have 

 been no transformation of moor and moss into agricultural land in 

 Essex at all comparable to that which has taken place in some of the 

 northern counties, nor are dye-polluted streams a new and hideous 

 feature of this district. But the dealers in ferns, primroses, and 

 other plants for the London market have probably been even more 

 destructive than those of Manchester and Durham. 



An interesting account was given at Edinburgh by the Rev. E. P. 

 Knubley of the destruction of wild birds' eggs owing to the rapacity 

 of dealers and collectors. One collector living in Edinburgh was 



