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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1142 



who would be prepared to assist small so- 

 cieties by lecturing for a small fee would 

 be of great assistance. Mr. H. V. Thomp- 

 son, Hon. Sec. of the North Staffordshire 

 Field Club, says : 



It would greatly facilitate matters if the British 

 Association prepared a list of lecturers on various 

 scientific subjects who, although not necessarily in 

 the first rank of scientific attainment, could be re- 

 lied upon to give lectures which would hold and in- 

 terest a normal popular audience. This course 

 would much assist local clubs and societies in the 

 difficult choice of lecturers and also enable them to 

 gauge the interest in science in the district. 

 Furthermore, promising young men would be in- 

 troduced to districts where they are unknown at 

 the present time. 



Mr. H. E. Forrest, Hon. Sec. of the Cara- 

 doc and Severn Valley Field Club, makes 

 much the same suggestion, as follows: 



I think local societies might help each other a 

 great deal more than they do. In almost every so- 

 ciety there are one or two members who are good 

 lecturers on some particular branch of natural sci- 

 ence. These might, in many instances, be willing 

 to lecture to other societies for their expenses or a 

 nominal fee. I suggest that you prepare a list of 

 these gentlemen (giving addresses), with the sub- 

 jects on which they lecture, and send the list to all 

 corresponding societies, leaving it to their secre- 

 taries to make arrangements direct with the re- 

 spective lecturers. 



Mr. Herbert Bolton, curator of the Bris- 

 tol Museum and Art Gallery, suggests that 

 there should be an exchange system of lec- 

 turers among museum curators: 



If, say, a dozen curators had all to work up lec- 

 tures upon subjects with which they are familiar, 

 they could, by arrangement, deliver the lectures at 

 eleven other places in addition to their own, and 

 so put in a good winter's work and make a good 

 lecture reach a wide audience. 



Similar suggestions are made by several 

 correspondents for the exchange of lec- 

 turers among local scientific societies. 



SUMMARY 



1. Many local societies arrange for the 

 delivery of occasional popular or semi- 



popular science lectures, but the audiences 

 are mostly made up of members and their 

 friends. 



2. In most places there is a small circle 

 of people interested in scientific work and 

 development, and sufficient means exist to 

 enable them to extend their acquaintance 

 with diverse branches of natural knowl- 

 edge, but the great bulk of the community 

 is outside this circle and is untouched by 

 its influence. 



3. Popular lectures on scientific subjects 

 do not usually attract such large audiences 

 as formerly in most parts of the kingdom. 

 To make a wide appeal to the general pub- 

 lic the same principles of organization, ad- 

 vertisement and selection of lecturer and 

 subject must be followed, as are adopted 

 by agents of other public performances. 



4. Increase in the number of educational 

 institutions has provided for the needs of 

 most persons who wish to study science, 

 either to gain knowledge or prepare for a 

 career. Other people seek entertainment 

 rather than mental effort in their leisure 

 hours, and they require subjects of topical 

 interest, or of social and political impor- 

 tance, to attract them to lectures. 



5. Few popular lectures pay their ex- 

 penses, and scarcely a single local society 

 has a special fund upon which it can draw 

 in order to meet the cost involved in the 

 provision of a first-rate lecturer and ade- 

 quate advertisement. 



6. Expenses of public lectures are usu- 

 ally paid from (a) general funds of local 

 societies; (b) college or museum funds; 

 (c) rates; (d) education grants; or (e) 

 Gilchrist and other trusts. 



7. After the war there will be a new 

 public for lectures and courses on a wide 

 range of subjects; but one of the main pur- 

 poses of the lectures should be to show as 

 many people as possible that they are per- 

 sonally concerned as citizens with the posi- 



