June 4, 1896] 



NA TURE 



i>5 



temporary seclions are often exposed, which a resident in the 

 district might take the opportunity of sketching or photograph- 

 ing and describing while the chance is u|ien to him. Such 

 opportvmitiesare frequently lost owing to ihu temporary character 

 of the work which has necessitated tlie excavation, and the 

 absence of a qualified observer at the right time. It cannot be 

 made too widely known to the members of local societies that 

 every extensive artificial excavation is worth calling the attention 

 of geologists to, and particularly when the society comprises no 

 geological expert in its own ranks, because external aid might 

 then be solicited before it is too late. 



There are also certain special lines of geological work in 

 which local co-operation has been found of great value, such, 

 for instance, as the recording of the rate of erosion of sea-coasts, 

 the distrilaition, mode of occurrence, mineralogical characters, 

 i.N:c., of erratic blocks, the height of water in wells, and so forth. 

 These investigations have been, or still are being, carried on 

 by British Association Committees, and are mentioned here 

 simply as illustrations of the kind of work in which the members 

 of local societies might take part. In anthropology and pre- 

 historic archaeolog)' there is also abundant scope for local effort 

 m the way of registering ancient remains, conducting systematic 

 explorations, and assisting in their preservation by the appoint- 

 ment of vigilance committees. The needs in this department 

 of science have been set forth in the reports of the British 

 Association Ethnographic Survey Committee, and have from 

 time to time been referred to in these columns in the reports of 

 the conferences of delegates of Corresponding Societies.' 



Thus, while there is jjlenty of work for local observers 

 to <lo, and while the efforts which have been made 

 in the past, and which are still being made by the provincial 

 societies are worthy of the highest commendation, it cannot be 

 denieii that the energies of our local w-orkers are not altogether 

 as productive as they might be made for the cause of science. To 

 point out a few of the reasons why the scientific activity of local 

 societies is not producing the best possible results in the way of 

 original investigation, may go .some way towards suggesting 

 remedies. In the fir.st place, there is very frequently a want of 

 co-operation between workers in the same or in neighbouring 

 districts. This leads to a frittering away of energy by several 

 people doing the same thing independently and unnecessarily. 

 Such want of co-operation often arises from petty local jealousies 

 which, however contemptible, may be powerful enough to 

 cripple progress. Perhaps the best way to ensure co-operation 

 is to bring the societies of the same or neighbouring counties 

 into occasional intercourse by means of a system of federation. 

 The Unions of naturalists' societies, such as those of Yorkshire, 

 the Midlands, and the East of Scotland, have done good service 

 in this way. As we have already announced, a Congress of 

 Societies of the .South-east of England was held at Tun- 

 bridge Wells on April 25. On a wider scale the British 

 Association has for the last eleven years been giving facilities to 

 the representatives of local societies all over the country for 

 meeting and holding annual conferences under the official 

 auspices of the -Association. Xot the least important feature 

 of these conferences, which are regularly reported in these 

 columns, is the opportunity which they give the delegates of 

 learning directly from scientific experts the particular lines of 

 work in which local co-operation is likely to be of real value to 

 science. The work of some of the Association Committees has 

 in this way received considerable local support, but on the whole 

 the assistance given is not as great as could be wished. It may 

 be useful to attempt an analysis of the causes why such aid has 

 not been more freely rendered. 



Any one who looks into the publications of local societies, or 

 who is acquainted with the details of their management, must 

 become impressed with the fact that the greater part of the 

 work is done by amateurs. We do not use this term in a dis- 

 paraging sense ; on the contrary, it redounds to the credit of this 

 country that so much work should be done by amateurs. But 

 the workers of this class, however enthusiastic, are often devoid 

 of scientific training, and are still more generally prevented by 

 other occupations from carrying on continuous observations in 

 anyone subject. Hence the sporadic character of the work 

 published, the want of co-ordination, and the difficulty of getting 

 adequate assistance for the systematic recording of observations 

 required by the prolonged inquiries undertaken by the British 

 Association Committees. Another weakness-which the amateur 

 ' See an .-irticle by llie writer, in Natcke, vol. .vxi-x. p. 19 (1883). 



NO. 1388, VOL, 54] 



often possesses is the tendency to cope with too wide a range of 

 subjects, and a desire to take in hand the whole circle of the 

 sciences rather than devote himself to the drudgery of detailed 

 observation in one limited field. Much good would result if it 

 could be brought home to those who really desire to further the 

 cause of science by local work, that the united efforts of a number 

 of workers, each labouring in his own little domain, is in the 

 long run the best of all methods for advancing knowledge by 

 original contributions. If the amateur would curb his ambition, 

 and take counsel with his co-workers, the volumes of some of 

 the publications which have come under our notice would shrink 

 in size, but the literature of science would gain considerably 

 thereby. 



The most promising remedy for these and other defects which 

 are incidental to associations composed of more or less fluctuating 

 elements appears to be the system of federation, if it can 

 only be effected practically so as to over-ride the petty local 

 narrowness which so frequently prevails. By co-operation the 

 general level of the work done would be raised ; it would be 

 made more obvious to each worker that the cause of science is 

 the one determining influence that should bind together the 

 members of the society and the society to the Union. Numerous 

 other advantages would naturally follow the adoption of such a 

 course. Not the least important of these is the improved status 

 which each society would gain Ijy being affiliated with its 

 neighbours. If the status is raised more support might be 

 looked for from the wealthy county residents, who, although not 

 themselves personally concerned with scientific work, might feel 

 it a duty to encourage the county society. It may be pointed 

 out incidentally that one of the most frequent causes of the 

 collapse of local societies is the want of pecuniary support. 

 This at least is the proximate cause ; but the ultimate cause in 

 such cases is as often as not the diminishing activity of the 

 society itself, and the consequent loss of interest in its proceed- 

 ings. It is confessedly difficult to keep up continuous active 

 interest among such fleeting associations of members as compose 

 the rank and file of the local societies. Many join at the 

 foundation, carried in by a wave of temporary enthusiasm which 

 soon dwindles down to an evanescent ripple, ending in the dead 

 calm of indifference and ultimate secession. Or, again, the 

 officials who float the society with all the enthusiasm of novelty 

 may leave the district, or, worse still, kill the creation of their 

 youth by the decrepitude of old age, and by tenaciously holding 

 office convert the association into "a one man society" with a 

 fossilised official for its executive. Truly it has been said that 

 a local society is just what its secretary likes to make it. 

 With federation and co-operative action there would arise a 

 stimulating influence tending to prevent the decline of any one 

 of the federated societies through these or any other of the 

 thou.sand natural causes that affect the healthy existence of such 

 associations. There would also be added to these beneficial 

 effects an increased element of stability and permanence, more 

 particularly if the societies constituting the federation were bound 

 together by having one common publication. With respect to 

 this last suggestion, there is everything to be said in its favour 

 from the point of view of economy, from the point of view of 

 avoiding the unnecessary duplication of editorial work, and, not 

 least, from the point of view of diminishing the amount of 

 printed matter which the scientific reader is now supposed to 

 assimilate. 



Many other aspects of the work of local societies might have 

 been dwelt upon with advantage, but this want of centralisation 

 appears to be one of the chief causes why their scientific pro- 

 ductiveness is not commensurate with the number of workers 

 scattered throughout the country. We should like to see the 

 whole of the British Islands parcelled out into groups ot 

 counties, each group being represented by a federation of all 

 the societies contained in the counties composing the group. 

 Such Unions are wanted, for example, by the South Eastern, 

 the South Western, and the Western counties, as well as by 

 East Anglia and other naturally associated groups of counties 

 which will suggest themselves. The formation of these Unions 

 would not only strengthen the societies already in existence, but 

 would lead to the establishment of other societies in districts 

 that were not already provided for. There is no reason why, 

 in view of all the available scientific energy which is known to 

 exist, the local society should not Ijecome a real power in each 

 district— a centre of intellectual enlightenment worthy of public 

 recognition and support in the same sense that every other 



