Nov. 24, 1887] 



NA TURE 



93 



may occur in drift-covered areas, and are anxious that the 

 position of the same should be noted on the i-inch map of 

 the Ordnance Survey. 



The Sea Coasts Eivsioit Committee, lilce the other two 

 Committees, has a circular form of inquiry, which can be 

 obtained on application to Mr. Topley. 



Witli reference to the work of this last Committee, Mr. 

 Topley stated that but little assistance had as yet been received 

 from the local Societies. The Natural History Society of the 

 Isle of Man had undertaken to collect information ; and all 

 similar Societies in maritime counties might greatly assist the 

 Committee by local observation as to present changes, and by 

 researches as to past conditions of the coast. 



With respect to the work of the Erratic Blocks Committee, 

 Prof. Meldola said that he had been authorized to state, on 

 behalf of the Manchester Geological Society, that several mem- 

 bers of that Society had been interesting themselves in the dis- 

 tribution of boulders in their district, and it was expected that 

 their results would be available by the next meeting of the 

 Association. It was also mentioned that Mr. Adamson had 

 been rendering assistance to this Committee on behalf of the 

 Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. 



Mr. Ralph Richardson, as the representative of the Edinburgh 

 Ci-eological Society, pointed out that Scotland had been omitted 

 from the localities dealt with by the Erratic Blocks Committee. 

 He stated that much work in this field had already been carried 

 out under the auspices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and 

 lie hoped the Committee would be able to utilize their results. 



Earth Tremors Committee. — Prof. Lebour stated that since 

 the last meeting of the Conference the formation of a Joint 

 Committee by Sections A, C, and G has been agreed to, and 

 the resolution forwarded to the Committee of Recommendations. 

 The resolution was the following : — 



"That Sir F. J. Bramwell, Mr. E. A. Cowper, Mr. G. J. 

 Symons, Prof. G. H. Darwin, Prof. Ewing, Mr. Isaac Roberts, 

 Mr. Thomas Gray, Dr. John Evans, Prof. Lebour, Prof. Prest- 

 wich. Prof. Hull, Prof. Meldola, and Prof. Judd be a Commit- 

 tee for the purpose of considering the advisability and possibility 

 of establishing in other parts of the country observations upon 

 the prevalence of earth tremors, similar to those now being made 

 in Durham in connection with coal-mine explosions, and that 

 Prof. G. A. Lebour be the Secretary." 



Mr. Symons and Mr. Topley made some remarks on the work 

 of this Committee. 



Mr. De Ranee remarked that the proposed observations might 

 possibly under certain circumstances become connected with the 

 work of the Underground Waters Committee. Thus the Essex 

 earthquake of April 22, 1884, had caused a rise in the level of 

 the water in Messrs. Courtauld's well at Bocking, which had 

 reached its maximum in June of the same year. Since then the 

 level had been gradually falling, and at its present rate it might 

 he expected that the water would be at the same level as it was 

 before the earthquake about next August. 



Section D. 



Life- Histories of Plants. — Prof. Meldola said that during a 

 recent visit to Oxford he had had an opportunity of hearing a 

 suggestion in the course of a conversation with Prof. Bayley 

 Balfour, which had appeared to him as likely to be of use to the 

 members of local Societies. He had therefore invited Prof. 

 Balfour to attend the Conference and explain his views on the 

 suggested subject, but as that gentleman was prevented from 

 being present he had forwarded the following communication ; — 



"It appears to me that much good scientific work might be 

 done by members of local Societies in a direction which has 

 not attracted so much attention in Great Britain as it deserves. 

 The discovery and description of new forms, and the distribution 

 of our indigenous plants, are in botany the lines upon which most 

 of the energies of local Societies are principally spent, whilst 

 habit, construction, and generally the features of life-history of 

 plants come in for attention in quite a secondary way. This 

 arises, I think, in great part from the prevalent notion that the 

 facts of the life-history of our common plants are all well known, 

 and that there is little, if anything, more to find out about them. 

 That this is an erroneous idea may easily be shown — witness, 

 for example, the interesting observations recently published by 

 •Sir John Lubbock — and there is a field for a great deal of sound 

 work upon plants growing at our doors. 



"Within recent years Mr. Darwin's work, followed up by 



that of such men as Hermann Mliller, Kerner, Ogle, and others, 

 has given a stimulus to observations of adaptations between the 

 vegetable and animal kingdoms in connection with pollination in 

 flowers ; and many interesting facts about British plants have 

 been brought to light by workers in local Societies. Bnt little 

 has been done for the subject of the vegetative organs of these 

 plants — I mean the arrangement, true nature, and structure of 

 the members that carry on plant -life. In Germany, many years 

 ago, Wydler and Irmisch published a splendid series of contri- 

 butions to the knowledge of these features in indigenous German 

 plants — why has this not been done for Britain ? 



"Now, I venture to think that good results would follow if 

 you would bring before the Delegates at the meeting to-day the 

 importance of encouraging the members of their Societies to 

 study the life-histories of indigenous plants in their entirety, i.e. 

 from the stage of embryo in the seed up to the production of 

 fruit and seed again. Anyone who will take up this line of study 

 will assuredly derive great pleasure from it, and will be able to 

 add a great deal to the sum of our knowledge of plant-life. 

 Such work can be well combined with the more usual systematic 

 work ; it can be easily accomplished, and it will be found to give 

 much additional interest to the study of British botany." 



Mr. C. P. Hobkirk considered that Prof. Balfour's letter was 

 a very important one, and that, as therein suggested, the time 

 and energies of the members of local Societies would be far 

 more usefully employed by following the lines indicated by 

 Prof. Balfour than, as at present, in simply collecting, naming, 

 and registering local plants. As far as he was concerned, he 

 was prepared personally, and also on behalf of the Yorkshire 

 Naturalists' Union, which he represented, to do everything in his 

 power to assist in carrying out practically Prof, Balfour's most 

 useful proposition. Although the compilation of local floras 

 was most useful and necessary work, yet the actual life-history 

 of individual forms was now of really paramount importance, 

 and members of local Societies should be urgently requested to 

 carry on this work without delay. 



Section H. 



Ancient Monuments Act. — The Secretary read the following 

 conjmunication from General Pitt-Rivers : — 



" I am much afraid I shall not be able to be present at the 

 meeting of Delegates of local Societies on Tuesday ; but the 

 subject is so important for the preservation of these monuments 

 that in case I am not there I write in order that you may know 

 what my view of the matter is. 



" Perhaps I cannot do better than slate in a few words what 

 the work of the Inspector of Ancient Monuments is, and you 

 will then see what kiud of progress is likely to be made without 

 some assistance such as has been proposed,^ and in what way the 

 assistance of local Societies can be given. 



" You are probably aware that in the original Act of 1882 fifty 

 ancient monuments in Great Britain were scheduled as monu- 

 ments to which the Act could apply at once if the owners were 

 willing. Some persons suppose that by scheduling these monu- 

 ments they were actually placed under the Act, but this is not 

 the case. The scheduling was done without the knowledge or 

 consent of the owners, and their consent had to be obtained both 

 for these and for every other monument that has been since added 

 to the list. This has entailed the examination and survey of all 

 these monuments which are distributed over England, Scot'and, 

 and Wales. The addresses of the owners had to be obtnined, 

 and this could only be done on the spot. After that the owners 

 had to be visited personally, for I soon found an official letter, 

 without a verbal explanation, almost invariably produced a 

 refusal. On this account I have of late found it advisable never 

 to approach an owner without a personal introduction, or with- 

 out doing it in such a way as to induce him to consider the matter 

 favourably. This mode of procedure for the whole country has, 

 of course, taken a long time, and the result has been that about 

 half of these fifty monuments have been voluntarily put under 

 the Act by their owners, and of the remainder some of the 

 proprietors have refused, whilst in the case of others it has been 

 found impracticable owing to peculiarities in the ownership. All 

 the monuments have, however, been carefully surveyed, planned, 

 and drawn, and in every case in which there has been a refusal 

 the owners have stated their intention of taking good care of the 



I This refers to the work of the Pi-ehistoric Remains Committee of the 

 British Association. . - -• * 



