772 REPORT — 1894. 



the late Dr. W. Farr, Mr. F. Galton, Mr. C. Roberts, Dr. Beddoe, Sir Rawson 

 Rawson, and others, took an active part, was engaged in collecting statistical 

 information relating to the physical characters, including stature, weight, chest- 

 girth, colour of eyes and hair, strength of arms, &c., of the inhabitants of the 

 British Isles ; and their reports, illustrated by maps and diagrams, were published 

 in the annual volume issued by the Association. This Oommittee terminated its 

 labours in 1883, although, as was fully acknowledged in the concluding report, the 

 subject was by no means completely exhausted. 



A great and important work which the Association has now in hand, in some 

 sense a continuation of that of the Anthropometric Committee, though with a 

 more extended scope of operation, is the organisation of a complete ethnographical 

 survey of the United Kingdom based upon scientific principles. In this work 

 the Association has the co-operation of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 

 the Folk-lore Society, the Dialect Society, and the Anthropological Institute. 

 Representatives of these different bodies have been formed into a Committee, of 

 which Mr. E. W. Brabrook is now chairman. It is proposed to record in a 

 systematic and uniform character for certain typical villages and the neighbouring 

 districts — (1) the Physical Types of the Inhabitants, (2) their current Traditions 

 and Beliefs, (3) Peculiarities of Dialect, (4) Monumental and other Remains of 

 Ancient Culture, and (6) Historical Evidence as to Continuity of Race. The 

 numerous Corresponding Societies of the Association scattered over various parts 

 of the country have been invited to co-operate, and the greater number of them 

 have cordially responded, and special local committees have been formed in many 

 places to carry out the work. 



The result of a preliminary inquiry as to the places in the United Kingdom 

 which appeared especially to deserve ethnographic study, mainly on account of the 

 stationary nature of the population for many generations back, was given in 

 the first Report of the Committee presented at the Nottingham meeting of the 

 Association last year, in which it was shown that in the British Isles there are 

 more than 250 places which, in the opinion of competent authorities, would be 

 suitable for ethnographic survey, and in which, notwithstanding the rapid changes 

 which have taken place during the last fifty years in all parts of the country, 

 much valuable material remains for the Committee to work upon. Without 

 doubt, as interest in the subject is aroused, this number will be greatly increased. 



A most important step in securing the essential condition that the information 

 obtained should be of the nature really required for the purpose, and that the 

 records of different observers should be as far as possible of equal value and 

 comparable one with another, has been the compilation of a very elaborate 

 and carefully prepared schedule of questions and directions for distribution among 

 those who have signified their willingness to assist, and as a guarantee that the 

 answers obtained to the questions in the schedules will be utilised to the fullest 

 extent, certain members of the Committee specially qualified for each branch of the 

 work have undertaken to examine and digest the reports when received. 



It may be remarked in passing that the Anthropological Society of Paris has 

 within the past year formed a Commission of its members to collect in a systematic 

 manner the scattered data which, when united and digested, shall form ' une 

 anthropologie veritableinent nationale de la France,' and has issued a circular 

 with schedules of the required observations. These are, however, at present 

 limited to the physical characters of the population. 



Among the many services rendered to the science of Anthropology by the 

 British Association, not the least has been the aid it has afforded in the publication 

 of that most useful little manual entitled ' Notes and Queries on Anthropology,' 

 of which the first edition was brought out exactly twenty years ago (1874), under 

 the supervision and partly at the expense of General Pitt-Rivers. Since that time 

 the subject has made such great advances that a second edition, brought up to the 

 requirements of the present time, was urgently called for. A Committee of 

 the Britisli Association, appointed to consider and report upon the best means 

 of doing this, recommended that the work should be placed in the hands of the 

 Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. This recommendation 



