724 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1914., 
local investigations, are often of high scientific rank, and their affairs are 
administered in a business-like manner by a regular staff. On the other 
hand, there are numerous smaller societies and field clubs, scattered over the 
country, which are excellently situated for conducting local investigations, 
and are in many cases doing valuable work, but of which so little is generally 
known that it has often been difficult to discover their official addresses. 
In some parts of the country the smaller societies either group themselves 
into what is practically a federation, or else affiliate themselves to some 
large society in their district, and the Committee think that if the local societies 
could more generally be induced to group themselves round what might be 
described as local sub-centres, it would not be difficult to devise methods of 
uniting the representatives of those sub-centres in the performance of interest- 
ing and important duties during the meetings of the British Association, with 
the final effect of establishing systematical local investigation throughout the 
country, and uniformity in the modes of publishing the results. The recom- 
mendations of the Committee will tend wholly in this direction, because, 
although they have considered many plans of fulfilling their instructions in a 
direct manner, no plan recommends itself to them as superior to this indirect 
method in its capacity for producing valuable and durable effects. It can 
hardly be doubted that numerous systematic investigations of a local character 
will continue to be carried on, and that their successful prosecution would 
result in important gains to science. Neither does it appear doubtful that the 
successful prosecution of such investigations by the smaller local societies would 
be greatly encouraged and facilitated by the general interest shown in their 
work by the more influential societies in their neighbourhood, by a watchful 
oversight, a readiness to discuss and publish results, and by the personal in- 
fluence of their leading members. The Committee offer the recommendations 
they are about to make in the trust that they will serve to remind the more 
important local societies of the high and useful function they are able to per- 
form by entering into friendly and helpful relations with the small and scat- 
tered societies of the respective districts, and by offering themselves as their 
scientific representatives wherever representations may be necessary.’ 
Subsequently, at a meeting of the General Committee of the Association held 
in London, on November 11, 1884 (by adjournment from Montreal), Rules 
proposed by the Council, upon the recommendations of the Committee of 
1882-3 were finally adopted, and incorporated with the Rules of the Asso-_ 
ciation. In accordance with the new rules a ‘ Corresponding Societies Com- 
mittee,’ consisting of (as then printed): Mr. F. Galton (Chairman), Professor 
Williamson, Captain D. Galton, Sir J. D. Hooker, Professor Flower, Professor 
Boyd Dawkins, Sir Rawson Rawson, Dr. Garson, Mr. J. Evans, Mr. J. 
Hopkinson, Mr. Meldola, Mr. Whitaker, Mr. Symons, and Mr. Fordham 
(Secretary), was appointed by the Council, and thereafter the whole of the work 
previously carried on, or attempted, by a voluntary body became a part of the 
official machinery of the Association, and the history of the official relations 
of the British Association and local scientific societies is found in successive 
annual reports of the Corresponding Societies Committee. These commence in 
1885. In that year the Committee publish the first list of societies recom- 
mended by them for admission to the Roll of Corresponding Societies, 39 in 
number, a selection from amongst 52 applications. They also issue an Index 
List of Papers published during the previous year by these societies, arranged 
in groups according to the subjects referred to the various sections of the 
Association. The Index List in this form has been continued to the present 
time. In the Report for the following year (1886) are incorporated the proceed- 
ings and a report of the discussions which took place in the two Conferences of 
Delegates held during the meeting of the Association. The form of publication 
of this Annual Report and of the matter it contains has been since followed 
systematically. It would be impossible to summarise the whole series of these 
Reports within any reasonable compass, but some salient points may be noticed, 
As regards the number of societies officially associated with the British Associa- 
tion and the work it carries on the following figures may be given. In 1886 
the societies which nominated delegates for the Conference numbered only 24; in. 
the following year they were 32. At the end of the first decade, in 1896, they had 
