CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 67 
which existed for that purpose—should have set them the example of not 
having an annual meeting. There was absolutely no excuse for not having 
a meeting in that or some other room in London. 
Mr. W. Wuiraker supplemented his remarks by saying that local societies 
might help in the formation of libraries. Their societies could help in filling 
up lists of scientific works in their localities. There must be many men who 
had numbers of books that they did not specially want. It would be very 
much better to do distributing work in their lives than to leave it to their 
executors to deal with, and it would be a good thing if they handed some 
of their well-collected scientific literature to some public museum or library 
in their neighbourhood. Libraries were one of the chief means of furthering 
education. 
Miss MArcarer C. Crosriztp (Holmesdale Natural History Club) spoke of 
a revival of interest in her neighbourhood, where the school teachers were 
entering into the work and spreading it among the children. They had 
admitted teachers into their society on special terms—a special subscription of 
half-a-crown. 
Mr. Wairaker interpolated that the same was done at Croydon: teachers 
were admitted at half-subscription. . 
Tue Presmpent thanked the speakers for the many suggestions made, some 
cf which probably would find a place in his Report. The influence of their 
societies in teaching teachers of course was a very important one. In regard 
to this there was the difficulty teachers had in getting away to excursions. 
It was just conceivable that if one could emphasise the value of the work 
of these societies, acting through the teachers, to the children, some influence 
might be brought to bear on the educational authorities to facilitate the 
attendance of teachers at excursions in school hours, in the same way as 
in some places visits to museums were reckoned as part of the educational 
course. 
What Mr. Miller had told them about Edinburgh reminded him of 
the public labels he had been pleased to observe at St. Albans. Local societies 
should bring influence to bear on their municipalities to allow them to put 
up tablets on historic buildings, and so on, in a conspicuous and artistic 
manner, which would be of great advantage to the public and to themselves, 
but they must not rely too much upon these corporate bodies. The old sign- 
boards put up all over the country by the Cyclists’ Touring Club were most 
valuable, but when this work was placed in the hands of County Councils, 
for some years one found these old boards of the C.T.C. gradually falling into 
decay and nothing to replace them. Anybody who cycled about the country 
found great diversity in the counties. These were matters in which such 
societies as theirs could bring a certain amount of influence to bear on those 
public bodies. 
He thought perhaps on the general question the most important remarks 
were those contributed by Mr. Sheppard. His were another example of the 
fact that people valued most what they had to take most trouble to get and 
what they had to pay for. Another cause of the lamentable results to which 
Mr. Sheppard referred might perhaps be that the interest excited by museum 
visits had nothing continuous about it : they were perpetually interesting people, 
but they were not leading them on. To get permanent results, the museum 
eurator should give the children facilities for continuing the study of any 
subject in which he found that their interest was aroused. One must not, 
however, demand too much from the museums; it does not in the least follow 
that a boy who takes an interest in history, is going to be an historian; it does 
not follow that because a boy has taken interest in geological specimens he is 
going to become a geologist; only, if you want him to follow up a special subject, 
he must not be taught in a scrappy way. 
The Report of the Corresponding Societies Committee was read by the 
Secretary and it was agreed that the Council of the Association be requested 
to appoint Mr. Mark Sykes a member of the Committee. 
