320 Notes and -Comments. 
otherwise. What was the effect of this change on the provincial 
Field Clubs? The newly created class of workers were soon 
busy at their professional labours—too busy for the most part 
to become active members of the clubs. The smatterers on 
the other hand either joined the clubs in a condescending 
manner or thought themselves too good for them. The 
influence of this on the clubs was a curious one. The old 
genuine Field Club naturalist was no smatterer. What he 
knew, he knew well, from personal observation and from hard 
private reading, carried on often at great sacrifice, for the love 
of nature and knowledge. The new smatterers were not to 
his taste ; their long words and arrogance drove him to silence 
and spoilt for him the old feeling of club brotherhood and 
equality as leaners and seekers of the less academic days of the 
past. His modesty produced diffidence. Only the more 
sturdy and independent members resisted and went on as 
before. The others gradually dropped off. The character of 
the club had sensibly changed.’ 
To some extent, we must agree here. There is no question 
that the existence of a University College in a town, members 
of which, quite properly, join the Field Club, alters the nature 
of the meetings. The amateur does not care to ask what may 
be looked upon by the professional scientist as simple or silly 
questions. In a way, this may be a disadvantage, but such 
disadvantage should surely be more than counterbalanced 
by the superior methods advocated by the trained scientist. 
The members specialise more—which is an advantage—the 
‘all-round’ naturalist, as a result of the growth of knowledge 
in all branches, becomes more and more a rarity. Year by 
year, such a man more resembles a miracle. Still, those who 
do not wish to take advantage of this special knowledge, can 
do what actually has Deen done in one Yorkshire town, Viz., 
form another society and keep it among themselves ! 

ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Prof. Lebour goes on to say, ‘ Again, in the course of years 
all the flowers, beetles, butterflies, birds and beasts of a limited 
tract of country have practically been gathered. The lists 
of all the larger objects are complete or nearly so. Only on 
the luckiest occasion, can even a new variety be found. Hence 
the purposes which actuated the eager searchers of the past 
are much diminished in force. Only microscopic organisms 
are left to be sought for. These hitherto unpopular creatures 
represent almost the only remaining quarry.’ On this point 
we can hardly agree with the President | There are hundreds 
of forms of life, by no means microscopic, which want investi- 
gation. It is not so long ago that a volume dealing with the 
Diptera of Northumberland and Durham, was issued by the 


Naturalist, 
