101 



Mr. R. Adkin read the report of the meeting of the dele- 

 gates of societies affihated to the British Association (see 

 below). 



Mr. Andrews read a paper on " Diptera " (see p. 34). 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



Conference of Delegates of Corresponding 

 Societies. 



Rcporicd by Robert Adkin, October 2Sth, 1909. 



In accordance with the instructions of your Council, 

 I attended the Conference of Delegates of Corresponding 

 Societies of the British Association at Burlington House, on 

 Monday and Tuesday, October 25th and 26th. 



Upwards of forty delegates, representing societies in 

 various parts of the country, even from so far away as 

 Cornwall, attended. 



At the commencement of the proceedings Professor A. C. 

 Haddon, D.Sc, F.R.S., the chairman of the Conference, 

 delivered an address to the delegates. He took for his 

 subject " Original Surveys," work which he explained could 

 be well undertaken by local societies. What is wanted, he 

 suggested, is close study of limited areas, not necessarily 

 a county, but any well-defined area ; it might be a river- 

 valley, a range of hills, a parish, or several counties. The 

 size of the area is immaterial, so long as its boundaries are 

 well defined. Whatever district is selected should be con- 

 sidered from all points of view, not merely from that of the 

 zoologist, or the geologist, or the archaeologist, and so forth, 

 but as a whole; and the work of sectional recorders should 

 be brought together, and the bearing of the results of the 

 researches of the one upon that of the other carefully worked 

 out. The photographer, he said, could be of the utmost 

 assistance to one and all of them. Incidentalh', he referred 

 to the difficulty experienced by many local societies in 

 interesting the majority of their members in the work that 

 they are endeavouring to carry out. Naturalists, he said, 

 are so because they are so born, but many others who would 

 be willing workers are of little practical value to their societies 

 because they do not know just what to do. It should be 

 the desire of the councils of the societies to interest such 

 members, when it will often be found that they are soon to 



