120 MEETING OF CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES' 



wood. One half of the pipe being done, they complete it by 

 boring'Jn the same way from the other end^ 



The pipes when finished are thrown into a pond, where they 

 swim undisturbed until thev are wanted. 



MEETING OF CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES' 

 COMMITTEE OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIA- 

 TION AT BELFAST, 1902. 



MR. W. WHITAKER, F.R.S., kindly acted as Delegate 

 of the Essex Field Club at the Belfast Conference, and 

 he gave at our meeting in November last a short verbal 

 summary of the proceedings. Owing to the delay in the 

 issue of the printed Report of the Conference it has 

 not been possible to give, until the present part of the Essex 

 Naturalist, our usual account of the proceedings. Now 

 that the British Association's Belfast volume is out, and on our 

 library shelves, it will be sufficient to quote from the report 

 some passages which more particularly concern and appeal 

 to the members of our own club. 



At the first Conference, on September nth, 1902, the Chair- 

 man, Prof. W. W. Watts, M.Sc, Sec.G.S., delivered a very 

 interesting address. In alluding to the raison d'etre and functions 

 of these annual conferences, he said : — 



" First and foremost in my belief comes the fact that this Conference is 

 the only body which gives a kind of corporate existence and standing to 

 the Local Societies as a whole. It is the only thing which brings the 

 Societies into touch with one another, and it is the only hope that at 

 present exists for united action and systematised work. That delegates 

 should make acquaintance, meet in friendly intercourse, and compare 

 notes as to work done by themselves and one another is also a good side 

 of our gathering, which is capable of further development than it has yet 

 received. 



" Secondly, the annual printing of a list of Societies known to be doing 

 important work, with an index of their publications, is a most useful guide 

 to those desirous ot working up the literature of any area. The publications are 

 always of limited issue and still more limited circulation, and they are most 

 difficult to obtain a few years after date. The Association has most wisely 

 treasured the publications which have been sent to it, and it is to be hoped that 

 this nucleus of a valuable and unique collection will be placed where it is widely 

 accessible. 



I Compare Evelyn's account of the making of wooden water-pipes, in the "Notes" in 

 the present part.— Ed. 



