REPORT OF 

 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 



An association for promoting a Nature-study Exhibition 

 was formed on February i, 1902, at a meeting of some of 

 those anxious to give practical effect to the recommenda- 

 tions of the Board of Education for the improvement of 

 elementary schools, and to supplement the efforts of the 

 county councils and other independent authorities towards 

 encouraging the study of nature. 



The scheme was warmly supported in many influential 

 quarters, and the invitation to exhibit met with a response 

 which exceeded the most sanguine expectations. Large 

 though the space was which the Royal Botanic Society 

 placed at the disposal of the association, it was really too 

 small for an adequate display of all the exhibits, and some 

 exhibitors may have felt a little disappointment that occa- 

 sionally objects upon which they had expended considerable 

 care were placed in somewhat inconspicuous positions. The 

 fact, however, that the quantity of material sent was so great 

 amply justified the inception of the association, and testified 

 to the universal interest which this particular element in 

 education now attracts. Striking evidence of this was also 

 furnished by the co-operation of educationists in Canada, 

 Australia, and the United States in what was essentially a 

 private undertaking. 



At the opening of the exhibition the membership of the 

 association amounted to 286, and the total number of 

 exhibitors was 379, distributed as follows: — Group A, 63; 

 group B, 86; group C, 159; group D, 7; group E, 14; 



