CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 395 
a rhizopod—nor of the locality in which it was found. ‘The title should 
have been something like this ; ‘On Pseudo-ameba violacea, a presumed 
new Freshwater Rhizopod from the New Forest,’ and the principal words 
in this title, at least, should have been indexed. 
I need scarcely explain how all who write similar papers, and all 
editors of the publications of Scientific Societies, may apply this criti- 
cism and relieve the labours of others, especially of compilers of biblio- 
graphies. 
I have examined the bound volumes of most of your publications at 
the Office of the Association, and I find that the majority have the very 
serious fault that the date of publication of the several numbers, or parts, 
of which they are composed, is not given. The dates may have been, and 
probably in most cases were, on the covers ; but the covers are not bound 
up in the volumes, as they ought to have been—the first leaf at least— 
which would give date and contents, and should preferably be bound at 
the end of each volume. When the dates are not given in the bound 
volume it is impossible to ascertain when any particular paper was pub- 
lished, and therefore impossible to enter it in a bibliography as it should 
be entered. This may be of great importance in questions of priority. 
The month and year of issue of each separate part of which the volume 
consists, with the number of the first and last page in each part, should 
always be printed after the title-page or table of contents and list of 
plates ; thus, for example— 
Part I., pp. 1-18 . = . : . + October 1904. 
4 EL9;, 492805 ix=xvi = 4 : . January 1905. 
This might obviate the necessity, if not the advisability, of binding the 
covers. 
A volume sometimes appears without an index, more often without a 
table of contents and a list of the plates or other illustrations. Occasion- 
ally the index is placed at the beginning of the volume; it should 
always be at the cnd. In one case at least a table of contenis is called 
an index ; in another that abomination, a collection of separate indexes, 
is called ‘indices,’ a term which should be restricted to its mathematical 
signification. 
A frequent fault is the separate pagination of a thin publication, 
usually called ‘ Annual Report and Proceedings,’ or ‘Annual Report and 
Transactions,’ the first part of which titles is superfluous. When, say, 
ten of these, of perhaps thirty pages or so each, are bound together to 
form a volume, how difficult it is to ascertain their contents, how difficult 
it would be to satisfactorily index the volume! Much rarer is the fault 
of making a volume so thick that it has to be bound in two. 
Occasionally the name of an author is given thus: ‘Mr. Myth read 
the following Paper on Sea-serpents.’ Initials should always be given. 
Occasionally the name of an author is omitted altogether. This is the 
case with an annual meteorological report which appears in a very useful 
publication called a ‘ Record of Bare Facts,’ issued by an energetic Corre- 
sponding Society, 
Now a few words about reprints. I receive one. It is paged 1 to 4. 
It is stated, on the cover only, to be from the proceedings of a certain 
Society, neither volume nor date being given. I wish to enter it in a 
bibliographical list. Reference to the publication from which it is reprinted 
is absolutely necessary. I cannot find it in any London library. 
