8 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 
The meeting of the British Association is usually con- 
sidered to be an advantage to the town visited, and the 
surrounding district. One advantage is that local men 
become better acquainted with those from other parts of 
the kingdom and with foreign men of science, for it is one 
of the good features of the British Association to invite a 
certain number of distinguished foreigners as guests for 
each meeting. 
Museums, ancient monuments, cave-dwellings, and other 
similar local objects of interest, if such exist, usually 
receive attention, and in many cases with most beneficial 
results. 
~The peripatetic character of the British Association 
meetings is one of its best and most useful features, and its 
visit usually permanently raises the local interest in 
scientific matters to a higher level. 
The results of the work of the Session are printed in the 
form of an Annual Report of 1,200 to 1,500 pages. In it 
appear the addresses of the President and Presidents of the 
sections ; also the reports of the Scientific Research Com- 
mittees. On account of the great number of communica- 
tions, papers read before the Sections are usually printed 
in brief abstract, or the title only is given. The work done 
covers nearly all branches of Science, and the Research 
Committees have members carrying out investigations in 
all parts of the world, and in some cases their labours extend 
over many years. 
The British Association has, since its foundation, granted 
over £63,000 to assist individuals and committees in their 
researches. The grants commenced in a very moderate 
way, in 1854, with a vote of £20 for the investigation of 
‘Tides ; since then they have gradually increased, and now 
the amount usually exceeds £1,000 a year. 
In 1899 the British Association is to meet at Dover, and 
the French Association at Boulogne, on the opposite 
coast, during the same week, with the express object of an 
