i894. NOTES AND COMMENTS. 83 



At the least it is admitted, even by the grumblers among us, that 

 this annual gathering extracts for Science an amount of nutriment in 

 the shape of golden guineas not altogether to be despised. But what 

 we would rather lay stress upon are such benefits as the fresh impetus 

 given to scientific investigation in each place that is visited, the 

 friendships that professional workers often form with local amateurs, 

 and the general awakening of the public to the fact that, if on the one 

 hand Science helps them, it is, on the other hand, well within their 

 power to offer in return help in many ways previously unthought of. 

 Looking at the matter from these two points of view, there are certain 

 considerations that we may take this opportunity of bringing to the 

 notice of our readers, many of whom will doubtless shortly be 

 attending the meeting at Oxford. 



Firstly, as regards the matter brought to the notice of the 

 Sections. It may not be too late to express a hope that contributors 

 of papers to the forthcoming meeting will remember that there is a 

 large body of members who expect entertainment other than the 

 customary highly complicated paper dealing with minute details in 

 an obscure corner of scientific work. Many people bring dry papers 

 which would rapidly empty a learned society, and void them on a 

 respectable hard-working audience which has come to hear some new 

 thing that is addressed to their intelligence. The aspect of the 

 audience, if it remain under such an infliction, is generally saint-like 

 and resigned ; in fact, a British Association audience is one of the 

 very best in the world, and all rightly thinking and feeling people 

 hate to see it tortured. One of the things most appreciated in the 

 past was the formal discussion of some selected subject. This was 

 brought into contempt, principally, if our memory serves, by a 

 discussion on stays some years ago ; and vvhile it might be advisable 

 to refrain from inviting a possible recurrence of such demoralisation, 

 something ought to be found to take the place of the " discussion." 

 The secretaries of Sections have an opportunity here of improving 

 the meetings by bringing together the papers on allied subjects, 

 having them read without comment at the time, and finishing up each 

 group of papers with a general discussion of them. It would save 

 time, give wider scope to discussion, and make things more interesting 

 to the outsider and probably to the scientific Pharisee as well. A 

 time limit should be fixed for each group of papers, and the discussion 

 of them could be announced in the daily journal ; thus members 

 would learn not only where they were, but where they wished to be 

 at given times. 



Turning now to the finance of the Association, we hope that 

 someone will raise the question of the invested funds at the general 

 committee. A representation as to this matter was recently made to 

 the Council by a body of scientific men of exceptional weight, and it 

 was pointed out that the invested funds greatly exceeded the necessary 

 amount set aside against liabilities to life-members. It was asked 



