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IV. 



The Organisation of Local Science. 



[To judge from enquiries that have been received, so much 

 interest has been aroused among members of our local natural history 

 societies by Mr. Boulger's article on " What shall we do with our 

 Local Societies ? " in the last number, that we have much pleasure in 

 furnishing them with the following answer to the questions, which 

 was read by Mr. G. Abbott, General Secretary of the South-Eastern 

 Union of Scientific Societies, before the conference of delegates 

 from local societies, held during the recent meeting of the British 

 Association. — Ed. Nat. Sci.] 



MANY begin to recognise, and some, like Professors Meldola and 

 Boulger, have called public attention to, the need of improve- 

 ment in our local natural history societies — their disappointing result, 

 and too frequent unnecessary decay. 



Societies for the cultivation of science, or, as they are more often 

 named, natural history societies, scattered freely over the country have 

 done much good work ; some have reached high positions and gained 

 reputations for usefulness, but too many others are weak, irregular, their 

 efforts desultory, and so they fail to take their due position and secure 

 the influence that otherwise might be theirs. Their work too often 

 begins and ends with lectures that are mere stale resumes of what others 

 have done ; while the real scientific and useful work done by their 

 members, if any, is hid under a bushel. 



It is impossible to say accurately how many members are attached 

 to these societies. Professor Meldola estimates them at 24,000. But 

 this, no doubt, is reckoning only those societies which at present send 

 representatives to the British Association. The total number must be 

 at least twice as great, and I think this a low estimate, judging, as I 

 do, by the twenty-five societies which were represented at the Tun- 

 bridge Wells Congress of the South-Eastern Union, societies belonging 

 to three counties only. Of these, only four societies are included in 

 the British Association list, viz. : Croydon, Rochester, East Kent, and 

 Holmesdale, and they contain 556 members. 



Probably a fair average would be 100 members to each society, 

 and we should thus have in one corner of England alone 21,000 who 

 are not in direct association with the British Association, but who 



