CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 43 
forty years, having been Secretary for about fifteen years. With all due 
respect to the remarks that had been made, he believed that the serious 
work of a scientific Society could be combined with the more popular 
side, and he believed it should be the object of the local scientific Society 
to make real solid science popular. 
Mr. Beeby Thompson (Northamptonshire Natural History Society) 
said it was useless to go out with an excursion with the object of doing 
any solid work. Those who were familiar with such excursions must be 
well aware that there was little time for actual work, and indeed he did 
not think the excursions were quite intended for that kind of thing. In 
all these excursions the chief object should be to show the members of the 
Society what was of interest in natural history, and if they wanted 
really to work they must go at some other time. Excursions afforded 
facilities for getting over much ground under a competent director ; but 
if one of the party came across anything to work at, he should go back 
and undertake the research at leisure. Many of the excursions which 
had been described as picnics might, after all, be very useful. 
Mr. P. Ewing (Glasgow Natural History Society) said that his Society 
was not troubled with the expense of excursions, for their Excursions 
Committee arranged in such a way that no expense for the day should 
exceed half-a-crown. Their excursions usually took place on a Saturday, 
when reduced fares could be obtained. When organising an excursion 
they stated definitely what its special objects were. If it was for vrni- 
thology they named the birds that were common to the particular district 
they intended visiting ; if for botany, the plants that were likely to be 
seen ; and so on. Their Society divided itself into six sections under 
special leaders. 
Mr. H. Coates (Perthshire Society of Natural Science) said that his 
Society made a standing rule not to accept any kind of hospitality, and 
this was now so well known that they were not asked to accept it. 
They sought to attain definite results by appointing leaders skilled in 
each subject. He would mention that within the last two years they 
had tried a new experiment which had been very successful, namely, the 
establishment of 4 Junior Section of the Society, consisting of the elder 
children of the schools who had gone in for a Natural History Essay Com- 
petition which the Society had instituted. Those who were successful 
were allowed to join the Junior Section, and there were a few excursions 
organised especially for them, each of which was led by an adult botanist, 
ornithologist, and so on, of the Society ; and they were specially enjoined 
to avoid interference with rare plants or animals. They were told to look 
but not totouch. These junior excursions had been found very successful, 
and had not developed into mere pleasure-excursions or picnics on the 
part of the children. They found that those who had gone in for the 
Essay Competition were really in earnest, and were glad of the help 
of the Society’s adult members. In these ways Mr. Coates thought 
they had got over a few of the difficulties which the Chairman had 
referred to. 
Mr. W. Marsh (Leeds Naturalists’ Club) said he thought they must 
all be agreed as to the great value of the excursions of their Societies in 
Yorkshire, There was one of these local Societies in every town and 
practically in every parish. The Naturalists’ Union is held together by its 
excursions. They organised eight in the year, and worked much upon 
the lines mentioned by Mr. Coates, going to a particular district where 
