XVlll PROCEEDINGS, 



The President alluded to the quantity of remains of plants found 

 in the Hitchin lake-bed by Mr. Eeid, who, he said, was a great 

 authority on fossil plants. He also remarked that it was a curious 

 fact that the bones found were all of larger animals than man. 



2. " Report on the Rainfall in Hertfordshire in the Year 1897." 

 By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E. {Transactions, 

 Vol. X, pp. 23-32.) 



The President remarked that all the springs were going down, 

 and he thought that the question of water-supply would in a short 

 time be a very serious one. 



Mr. Hopkinson said that this was due to the small amount of 

 rain which had fallen in the Winter. As a rule the second half 

 of the year was much the wetter of the two, but the first half of 

 last year had 56 per cent, of the year's fall, while the second half 

 had only 44 per cent. The last quarter had only 18 per cent., and 

 this year up to the present time very little rain had fallen. 



3. Report ok the Conference of Delegates to the British 

 Association at Toronto in 1897. By John Hopkinson, 

 P.L.S., F.G.S,, etc., Hon. Sec. 



Having acted as your Delegate to the Toronto meeting of the 

 British Association, it is my duty to present to the Society a report 

 on the proceedings at the Conference of Delegates of the 

 Corresponding Societies held at that meeting. 



The meetings of the Conference were held in the University of 

 Toronto on the 19th and 23rd of August. The Corresponding 

 Societies' Committee of the British Association was represented at 

 each meeting by Professor Meldola, F.R.S., Chairman, and by your 

 Delegate, who had been appointed Secretary of the Conference, and 

 at the second meeting also by Sir John Evans, K.C.B., F.R.S., 

 President of the Association. 



First Meeting. 



Unions of Natural Sistory Societies. — The Chairman, Professor 

 Meldola, F.R.S., said that at the Livei-pool Conference the question 

 of federation amongst the local Natural History Societies of Great 

 Britain had been referred to the Corresponding Societies Committee, 

 and the action of the Committee had been embodied in the Report 

 which the Secretary would now read. 



Your Delegate then read the Report of the Corresponding 

 Societies Committee, which gave the results of an attempt made to 

 obtain the opinions of local Scientific Societies on the question 

 of federation. Extracts fi'om this Report which may be of interest 

 to our members follow. 



To a letter addressed to 124 Societies there were 34 replies, 

 which may be thus arranged : — Belong to Unions already, 9 ; in 

 close touch with a Union, 1 ; prevented by circumstances from 

 joining Unions, 2 ; undecided, 4 ; generally favourable to Unions, 

 9 ; unfavourable in their own cases, 9 : total, 34. 



