CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 241 
be done by people interesting the public in this way. What seems to m 
the difficulty is that we have sity time. I have bee time capaci in eel 
circumstances to write popular articles and not be paid for them. I am doing 
it now as a piece of war-work. 
The Presipenr : I should like before we part to mention one point and answer 
one question, about buying in the cheapest market. I will just give you a very 
simple illustration, which should satisfy Mr. Whitaker. Supposing we could 
get twenty-one nails for a penny of a certain kind of which we cannot in this 
country make more than twenty for a penny. We buy them from Germany 
whilst our workers are starving. Why can we get twenty-one nails from Germany 
_ for a penny? The Germans get their profit out of their home-business, and 
they keep their works going by dumping their surplus stock on the world. We 
cannot compete with them because of their heavy duty. We should have to 
make thirty for a penny to export to them. There is another point. If they 
want to extend the sale of their goods the German Government subsidise 
steamers. I know positively a certain thing that will perhaps astonish you. You 
can get a pianoforte from Germany sent by Southampton to any of our colonies, 
and the freight will be much less than from this country to our colonies. 
There is no way to get out of that difficulty other than by retaliating, by 
putting a duty on their goods. Of course I allude to pre-war transactions. 
With regard to the point mentioned by Mr. Bevan, it is correct that the 
advice of the Society for the Protection of Birds is not always good. As to 
sparrows, we know that the sparrow feeds its young with insects such as 
caterpillars, not with grain. That is the time when the sparrows do the 
farmer good. They catch the caterpillars and give them to their young. Do 
not prevent them from doing their work in eating the insects which do us 
harm. 
Another point which has been raised is the inquiry for copies of my address. 
The proper thing is for every delegate to write a report and get that report printed 
in the proceedings of his society. That is the only way in which we can get a 
knowledge of our proceedings spread amongst all the members’ of the societies. 
The delegate should have a copy of our printed report and make an abstract of 
ue for his society. That has been done from the very first by the Hertfordshire 
ociety. 
I am sure we have had a very interesting conference, and I do hope it will 
bear good results. I am very much indebted to those who have brought forward 
papers and to those who have contributed to the discussions. 
The Secretary : I think Mr. Whitaker is right as to buying raw material 
in the cheapest market abroad, but I do not see why he should buy in the 
cheapest market at home. I think English people can make almost anything 
better than anybody else. If the foreigner wants to get anything from this 
country very little trouble is taken, whereas the German is at great pains to do 
business. Mr. Whitaker did not notice that I said that anybody might be 
half-educated, scientific people and classical people alike. Unless the scientific 
know something of the classics and the classical something of science, they are 
both half-educated. Miss Crosfield said that local societies might be able to 
influence municipal bodies. I urged that we should bring pressure to bear 
upon them. The idea of going to local editors would be very good, but hardly 
now, when they have little room and paper is very dear. With regard to 
Dr. Bather’s remarks, I am a person who has had a classical and a scientific 
education. I have come to the conclusion that you must write what people 
want, not what you think they ought to have. I might claim some little 
success in this matter, and I should say the person who writes the best 
article from the paying point of view and the popular point of view is one who, 
like Dr. Bather, does not know anything about the subject, but is steeped 
in all the things that are round that subject; that is to say, knows enough 
of the science with which he is dealing not to make any mistakes, and is just in 
the position to pick out those points which are suited to the public. He is 
able to treat those things which are interesting and may be fresh to the reader, 
while the specialist is apt to drag in all sorts of petty points which the public 
does not care anything about. 
1917. R 
