726 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1914. 
he had been Chairman twice, and had held the office of Secretary. He 
endorsed Sir George Fordham’s opinion with regard to secretaries. He thought 
that honorary work was badly done, and that the duties which secretaries of 
societies were called upon to carry out should be divided. 
Mr. T. Suepparp (Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union) proposed that the Confer- 
ence send its best thanks to Sir George Fordham for his Address, which seemed 
a useful summary of the work of the Conference of Delegates. 
On one point he wished to join issue with Dr. J. G. Garson, who had stated 
that honorary secretaries were usually bad secretaries. He knew of several, 
both paid and honorary, and his experience was usually not in favour of the 
paid official. He certainly found that an honorary secretary was enthusiastic, 
and had his heart and soul in the work, and worked well; while, as soon as 
he received a payment, his duties savoured of ‘ work, and he lost interest in 
them. In the room were Mr, John Hopkinson, Mr. Lower Carter, Mr. Mark 
Webb, and others, whose work was certainly well known and was honorary. 
Principal Wirron Davies (University College, Bangor) seconded the vote 
of thanks to Sir George Fordham, and asked whether it was possible for the 
committee of a museum to send a Delegate to the Conference of Corresponding 
Societies. 
The subjects chosen for discussion were (1) ‘ Local Natural Histories and 
their Publications,’ (2) ‘The Question of the Compilation of an Index to the 
Latter.’ The first was introduced by Mr. John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., in 
the following paper entitled :— 
Local Natural History Societies and their Publications. 
The first essential in opening this discussion is perhaps to define its title so 
that the discussion may be neither too diffuse nor too restricted. I use the term 
‘Natural History’ in its widest sense, as covering the whole of Nature on, 
beneath, and immediately above the surface of our earth, and therefore including 
geology and meteorology. The term ‘local’ restricts the inquiry to societies 
which are formed to investigate the Natural History of a particular area, such 
area in England usually being a county. When the county is large, a number of 
local societies, having their own independent organisation, may federate, forming 
one composite society such as the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union; and the several 
societies in a number of counties may also do so, for example, the South-Eastern 
Union of Scientific Societies. 
I would therefore restrict the term ‘ Local Natural History Society’ to those 
formed to investigate the Natural History of their locality, and no others I 
submit have a raison d’étre. How then can this object best be accomplished ? 
It would be impossible to form such a society without suitable material; men or 
women who study Nature. To bring them together the subscription should not 
be high, nor should there be any distinction of class. All naturalists, whatever 
their social position may be, should be welcomed and should be invited to bring 
before their society the subject of their special study. The next essential is an 
efficient secretary, who, besides having the general management of the society, 
should study its members, pick out the workers, and induce them to lay the 
results of their investigations before the society. At first the result may be 
desultory, but in course of time it will probably become more and more systematic. 
Thus one member may be induced not only to take meteorological observations 
but also to undertake the duty of meteorological recorder, collecting the observa- 
tious of others, and in every county or nearly so there is a more or less numerous 
army of rainfall observers. Another may act as geological recorder, describing 
sections and photographing them, especially those of a temporary nature. Yet 
another may be an ornithologist, the camera here again being most useful, and he 
should be induced to give to the society an annual report on the birds which not 
only has he observed himself, but also including the observations of his corre- 
spondents. The most popular of the annual reports of the Recorders of the 
Hertfordshire Natural History Society is that of the Recorder of Birds, not only 
of our present Recorder, but each one for the last thirty-five years has been so. 
In botany an effort should be made to compile a flora of tke county, phanerogamic 
and cryptogamic, if there is not one of somewhat recent compilation already in 
