PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 29 
the west of Morpeth, hitherto not easy of approach. And even 
upon the lines of the older railways there are many places which 
we have never, or rarely, visited, and which would amply 
repay us for their selection. A sea voyage might be taken, being 
careful to select a time of year when the sea is likely to be calm; 
and few places more suitable than the Ferne Islands, during the 
breeding season of the numerous birds that frequent them, could 
be found in England; the Yorkshire coast north of Whitby 
might, in the same way, be reached by sailing from Sunderland, 
and in spite of the miseries which, to most, attend a trip on salt 
water, I believe these expeditions would be as popular as they 
certainly would be instructive. 
The remaining suggestion which I have to offer, is one which 
will engage the labour of all our members, but which I am sure 
is quite worthy of it: it is to make our Club the means of col- 
lecting and recording the names of fields, houses, farms, and such 
like places, which occur within our district. The names of vil- 
lages and larger places are found in our maps, but no record has 
ever been made of these equally valuable localities, which have 
hitherto only possessed an interest to the local population among 
which they occur. I do not mean, of course, that ordinary and 
common place names are to be recorded, such as middle field, 
ox close, or cow pasture, but only those which convey some, 
so to speak, historic meaning, either as regards events or 
language. The instances of such names are innumerable, and 
very valuable records of past times and of past thought may be 
preserved by such a collection as I propose. Every member in 
his own locality, and all of us in our visits to country places, may 
gather together what we can pick up, and the club can print a list, 
with illustrative notes, in its Transactions from time to time. 
Such a collection should have been‘made some time ago, for in 
consequence of freer intercourse and easier modes of transport, old 
populations are disappearing or changing their places of abode, 
and so names which had many a tale to tell, or event to hint at, 
have died away and been lost. The value of such a collection 
- would be great indeed, whether we regard the light which might 
in this way be thrown on local or even general history, or whether 
