176 ANNUAL MEETING — GENEBAL BUSINESS. 



offer; but they are authorised to state that the offer is renewed for 

 another year on the Bame terms as before, and they trust some of the 

 many able Entomologists in the Union will worthily win the ex- 

 President's prize before the next Annual Meeting. 



During th following Societies have expressed a wish to 



join the Union, and your Council have to-day admitted them, namely, 



ianburyshire Natural Bistory Society, The Birmingham Micros- 



copists' and Naturalists' Union, The Nottingham Working Men's 



[lists' Society, ami The Oxfordshire Natural History Society. 



The onlj other change in the constitution of the Union (luring the 



the withdrawal of The Small Heath Literary and Scientific 



Society. 



With the object of extending the usefulness of the Union by facili- 

 tating communications between the Societies of which it consists, 

 your Council have collected some information relating to the Societies, 

 and their Officers, which they feel assured will serve the purpose they 

 have had in view. 



[These particulars will be printed in full in future numbers of the 

 " Midland Naturalist."] 



In forwarding the series of questions to the various Societies which 

 have elicited this information, a request was made by your Council 

 for practical as for increasing the usefulness of the Midland 



Union ; to which the following responses have been made. 



One Secretary writes : — " There seems to be a great want of 

 reciprocity among the Members of the Union. A list of scientists who 

 would he willing to visit and read papers before Societies 

 other than their own might increase the usefulness of the Union, and 

 add to the friendly intercourse of one Society with another — not paid 

 rs, l>ut those members who make Science their hobby, and are 

 able and willing bo enlighten the ignorance of their neighbours for the 

 love of the cause." 



Another Secretary writes: — " I think it would be worth while for 

 all the Societies in the Union to exchange copies of their several 

 Annual Reports or Transactions, as they appear from time to time; 

 by so doing they would do much to promote the advancement of 

 and of work in the Midlands. It is often of great import- 

 ance to know something about the Natural Eistory of other localities, 

 to help the draw in- of conclusions and as some guide to the work of 

 ' "I :ni\ object; and this information is not usually 

 found in Looks of Natural History. Writers of papers, too, would 

 not then be writing for the people of their own district only, but for 

 the wider area of the Midland Counties at least. Valuable papers get 

 printed, year after year, which we have never seen, and scarcehj 

 d yet the Societies thai have published themarein the 

 i Union. It is of the highesl importance in working out the 

 Natural History of the .Midlands that each Society should possess 

 ,l "' means of correlating their observations wit h the observations of 

 the other Societies, and this can best bedoneby the distribution of 

 oth( r's papers as the; are published." 



This suggestion is mad, by another Secretary :— "That the Union 

 should offer more prizesfor treatises of a more elementarj kind than 

 tf-osi for which tin Darwin Prize is awarded, and to Members less 

 than a certain age, Bay •_':; or 25." 



A. fourth : mjs: '• That the Annual Meeting of the Union, 



if held earlier in the week than Thursday, would be more generally 



Convenient to many Memhers." 



