336 Corresjpondence — L. Dudley Stamp. 



trouble over the spelling of names would have been avoided had the 

 first proposer of any name published its derivation. 



F. A. Bather. 



A GEOLOGICAL EEGISTRATION BUREAU. 

 Sir, — The excellent suggestion in the Editorial Notes of the 

 April number of the Geological Magazine that the latter should 

 start a bureau for the registration of subjects of research is one which 

 will be welcomed, I think, by all workers. One learns to take almost 

 for granted the delightful and almost world-wide spirit of camaraderie 

 amongst geologists and the avoidance of " unnecessary friction " 

 is perhaps a minor advantage compared with others. In the course 

 •of one's travels one is almost certain to accumulate a miscellaneous 

 assortment of material and information which one would be only 

 too willing to pass on to others to whom it is of value — were their 

 identity known. I can cite two or three examples from my own 

 personal experience simply within the brief space of the last two 

 years which may serve to illustrate — without comment — the useful 

 possibilities of such a registration scheme. In one case a chance 

 meeting at the Annual Conversazione of the Geologists' Association 

 placed much valuable information and material in the hands of 

 myself and my collaborator in connexion with some work on the 

 Ordovician of Central "Wales ; in a second case unpublished and 

 highly relevant data were forwarded to me as a sequel to the reading 

 of a paper — which had to be extended accordingly before publication ; 

 in yet a third case some research on the Devonian was well advanced 

 before I became aware of other work proceeding along similar lines. 

 One might even be spared the intense mental anxiety caused by the 

 .appearance of someone else's hammer-marks in one's most treasured 

 spots ! 



L. Dudley Stamp. 



