CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 469 



what I am anxious to urge is the importance of prosecuting the work in a 

 systematic manner, and extending it to all departments of natural history. 



So far as concerns the types which ai-e - preserved in provincial 

 museums it may be said, probably, that the work should be done either 

 by the museum itself or by that excellent institution, the Museums 

 Association, an Association which has recently increased its usefulness by 

 the issue of a monthly joui'nal, which I may commend to the attention of 

 local Societies. It is true that some of the larger museums have already 

 published, or are now engaged in publishing, lists of their type-specimens, 

 or at least certain classes of types. But most museums fail to possess the 

 means of carrying out such work and properly publishing the results, and 

 therefore could hardly resent the interference of a local Society. More- 

 over a museum could not be expected to take cognisance of specimens in 

 private hands, whereas a Committee of the local Scientific Society could 

 make it its business to seek out ail the type- specimens within its sphere 

 of influence, whether in the local museum or in private collections, and 

 could give permanence and publicity to the information thus acquired by 

 printing the schedules of types in its proceedings. 



The same kind of research might, in my opinion, be extended with 

 advantage to local antiquities, at least to those of prehistoric age. Each 

 Society might fitly publish lists of the antiquities which have been 

 discovered within its own district, and which have been described and 

 iigured. Where the specimens remain in private hands, it is often 

 difficult, and sometimes impossible, to trace them, but no one is likely to 

 be more successful in the search than the members of the local Society. 

 The advantage of knowing, when working at any particular subject, 

 where the original specimens are located is so obvious that I venture to 

 hope that the Delegates may see their way to urge the Societies which they 

 respectively represent to move in the direction which I have indicated. 



It seems to me doubtful whether it is desirable to suggest at this 

 Conference many new lines of work to be taken up by our local Societies. 

 In most cases they already possess pi-ogrammes which are pretty heavily 

 weighted, some Societies perhaps undertaking even more than they cf.u 

 satisfactorily accomplish ; and I believe it would probably be better in 

 most cases to systematise and improve the existing work than to attempt 

 the introduction of new departments of study. The governing body in 

 each Society might well be charged with the duty of seeing that the vrovk 

 is worthy of the present position of science. The steady growth of 

 scientific education in this country during recent years ought to tell 

 most favourably upon the character of our local Societies. New members 

 come prepared with a groundwork of scientific training unknown to most 

 of the older members at the time they entered, and as a consequence the 

 work of the Society should be lifted to a higher level than that on which 

 we v/ftre formerly content to let it rest. It is satisfactory to note that iu 

 many cases this has been thoroughly realised, and indeed a review of the 

 proceedings of the various local Societies at the present day shows that ;i 

 high standard of excellence is often attained. 



With regard to geology — the department of natural knowledge in 

 which I happen to be specially interested — it is a matter of congratulation 

 that so much good work should be accomplished by the several Societies 

 which are in correspondence with the British Association. Not only are 

 the local sections, the fossils, and the rocks receiving attention from those 

 members who are interested respectively in stratigraphy, in palaeontology, 



