354 Notes and Comments. 



in twenty-five sections, but it was more in the form of a ' gift ' 

 or ' souvenir ' from the local committee. The object of 

 these handbooks has been to give the visitor an idea of the 

 scientific possibilities of the district visited ; if he is a geolo- 

 gist, he wants a clearly written account of the geology of the 

 area, with map, and an indication of the most profitable 

 places to visit ; if a botanist, he wishes to get a summary of 

 the botanical features of the district, and an idea of the 

 localities likely to interest him ; the archaeologist requires 

 information as to the traces of early man in the area, where 

 he can see ancient earthworks, or Saxon Churches; and so on. 

 An ideal handbook, properly indexed, should be a guide to 

 the district from every point of view. It is admitted that 

 at Edinburgh there are plenty of guides -already published, 

 but the visitor does not want to waste time finding these 

 guides, and selecting the one most likely to suit his particular 

 purpose : besides, it is much more pleasant to get a handbook 

 to the district, written by specialists, who know the require- 

 ments of the members, without having to pay for it ! 



OTHER LITERATURE. 



Owing to the cost of printing, etc., those who make a hobby 

 of collecting the literature in which they are interested — ■ 

 addresses, summaries of papers and so on — were disappointed. 

 The Presidential Address, previously given to members, was 

 a shilling ; the list of members, sixpence ; and the pamphlets 

 containing the Presidential Address and reprints of the papers 

 read in each section — inaugurated some years ago on the 

 proposition of the present writer — were not available, for the 

 reasons already given. There was, of course, the usual volume 

 of Presidential Addresses — in a paper cover instead of 

 cloth — marked, ' Price, Six Shillings,' though it was on sale 

 to the members at 4/6; but even at this reduced price, many 

 were debarred from purchasing a number for sending to 

 friends who were unable to attend — a privilege we formerly 

 enjoyed. Most of the geologists present had presented to 

 them a copy of the excellent ' Geology of the District around 

 Edinburgh,' by Dr. Flett and others (reprinted from The 

 Proceedings of the Geologists' Association), but this we believe 

 was a personal favour on behalf of the authors, and was in 

 no way official. But it supplied the geologists with what 

 thev missed in the ' handbook.' 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE : I92I. 



With the above heading the various Presidential Addresses 

 delivered at EdinlMirgh were issued in one volume, and for the 

 iirst time included the Address to the Conference of Delegates. 

 Besides the Presidential Address of Sir T. Edward Thorpe, 

 the publication contains ' Problems of Physics,' by Prof. 



Naturalist 



