ra.fT4 m\ 



353 

 NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



The Edinburgh meeting of the British Association was a 

 tremendous success — almost surprisingly so, even to the most 

 optimistic of its supporters. Whether as a result of the 

 charms of Edinburgh itself, or the energy displayed by Prof. 

 Ashworth and the local committee ; or the discussions an^ 

 correspondence in the scientific and general press sm«f*^^ '•♦•t/fttT! 

 meeting at Cardiff, or merely the after effects of th^^t"^;^* or "A 



a combination of all these causes, the fact remaifis^hat the 

 membership totalled 2768, a number which hay rare! 

 exceeded. 



JOINT DISCUSSIONS. 



A feature of the meeting was the number of joint cK^c^^jms^i IA\|%*!^ 

 These were well attended, and seemed to indicate thnPhrifrl^T '""^ 

 scientific discussions by experts in the particular subjects dealt 

 with were desired. On the other hand, the speakers having 

 been, quite rightly, chosen beforehand, little opportunity 

 occurred for any others interested, to speak. Also, these 

 joint meetings resulted in the work of the sections being 

 interfered with, fewer papers being read, and the discussions 

 on these were necessarily curtailed. Another drawback, 

 perhaps particularly noticeable in vSection C (Geology), was 

 the lack of opportunity for the amateur or beginner to bring 

 forwarded the results of his researches. In the past, the 

 Association has rendered incalculable service by the encourage - 

 mient it has given to these men, and, of course, it must still 

 contirue to do so. It is recognised that there are 'cranks' who 

 look upon the Association as a suitable opportunity to , let 

 off steam.' and it is not always possible to ' put the lid ' on 

 them ; and on other occasions time is occupied, if not actually 

 wasted, by listening to very elementary talk by earnest but 

 inexperienced people. When, also, the lecture list of any 

 section is particularly full, we think preference might be 

 given to papers which have not previously been delivered 

 and printed. Some papers given we had heard or read in 

 three or four different places previously. This, of course, is 

 a matter for the secretaries of the sections, who are fully 

 aware of the difficulties. 



THE HANDBOOK. 



In place of the usual ' handbook,' the members received 

 an excellent little volume entitled, ' Edinburgh's Place in 

 Scientific Progress,' which was very welcome, and would prob- 

 ably be read and appreciated by many of the members after 

 their return from the meeting.* It is written by specialists 



* This work, printed on thicker paper, is now published by Messrs. 

 W. & R. Chambers, Ltd., Edinburgh, at 6/-, and we can strongly 

 recommend it. 



1921 Nov. 1 



2 A 



