xvn ETHNOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 269 



A great and important work which the Association has 

 now in hand, in some sense a continuation of that of the 

 Anthropometric Committee, though with a more extended 

 scope of operation, is the organisation of a complete ethno- 

 graphical survey of the United Kingdom based upon scientific 

 principles. In this work the Association has the co-operation 

 of the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Folk-lore Society, 

 the Dialect Society, and the Anthropological Institute. 

 Eepresentatives of these different bodies have been formed 

 into a Committee, of which Mr. E. W. Brabrook is now 

 chairman. It is proposed to record in a systematic and 

 uniform character, for certain typical villages and the 

 neighbouring districts (1), the Physical Types of the In- 

 habitants, (2) their current Traditions and Beliefs, (3) 

 Peculiarities of Dialect, (4) Monumental and other Eemains 

 of Ancient Culture, and (5) Historical Evidence as to Con- 

 tinuity of Eace. The numerous Corresponding Societies of 

 the Association scattered over various parts of the country have 

 been invited to co-operate, and the greater number of them 

 have cordially responded, and special local committees have 

 been formed in many places to carry out the work. 



The result of a preliminary inquiry as to the places in the 

 United Kingdom which appeared especially to deserve ethno- 

 graphic study, mainly on account of the stationary nature of 

 the population for many generations back, was given in the 

 first Eeport of thi Committee presented at the Nottingham 

 meeting of the Association last year, in which it was shown 

 that in the British Isles there are more than 250 places which, 

 in the opinion of competent authorities, would be suitable for 

 ethnographic survey, and in which, notwitstanding the rapid 

 changes which have taken place during the last fifty years in 

 all parts of the country, much valuable material remains for 

 the Committee to work upon. Without doubt, as interest in 

 the subject is aroused, this number will be greatly increased. 



A most important step in securing the essential condition 

 that the information obtained should be of the nature really 

 required for the purpose, and that the records of different 

 observers should be as far as possible of equal value and 

 comparable one with another, has been the compilation of a 



