OCTOBEK 24, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



653 



TBB BRITISH ASSOCIATION. A RETRO- 

 SPECT* 



The third Belfast meeting, in respect of 

 attendance, has been very considerably be- 

 low the average, the numbers being a little 

 over 1,600, or about 300 less than in the 

 ease of the previous meeting, 28 years ago. 

 This falling off is mainly due, we believe, 

 to the fact that the people of the neighbor- 

 hood did not take an active interest in the 

 meeting by becoming associates to any- 

 thing like the extent that might have been 

 expected. The number of old life mem- 

 bers and old annual members, as well as of 

 new life members and new annual sub- 

 scribers from a distance, was not below 

 that of the previous Belfast meeting and 

 was up to a fair average. There may be 

 other reasons to account for the diminished 

 attendance. Although the Saturday ex- 

 cursions were numerous and attractive 

 enough, and the garden parties and other 

 receptions of daily recurrence, still there 

 were no official excursions following the 

 meeting. It is to be hoped that these will 

 never be revived. There is no reason to 

 regret the falling off, if it is mainly due to 

 the fact that the attractions to unscientific 

 trippers were fewer than in the past. It 

 is true that the diminished attendance led 

 to the cutting down of the grants for sci- 

 entific research to an unusually low figure ; 

 but, after all, there are nowadays many 

 other ways of obtaining pecuniary support 

 for such purposes. The afternoon recep- 

 tions especially have a serious effect on the 

 attendance of such sections as meet after 

 lunch. This practice of holding afternoon 

 meetings is likely to spread among the sec- 

 tions, and it is deserving of consideration 

 whether some modification should not be 

 made in what is, after all, no necessary 

 part of the functions of the Association. 



At Belfast, as at previous meetings, prob- 

 ably some of the most useful work of the 



* From the London Times. 



Association was done outside the section 

 rooms, at the informal gatherings that take 

 place among the working members. A 

 staple subject of discussion at such meet- 

 ings is that of the functions of the Associa- 

 tion in relation to modern conditions so 

 very different from those which existed 

 even half a century ago. The scientific 

 work of the Belfast meeting was certainly 

 up to the average in most of the sections, 

 although in many cases the papers read 

 were of restricted and very special interest. 

 The new section which deals with educa- 

 tion, as well as the section of economics, 

 set a good example by arranging before- 

 hand to have only a very few subjects of 

 wide interest on their programs, to be dealt 

 with on the four or five real working days 

 of the meeting, and to be thoroughly dis- 

 cussed by men capable of treating the sub- 

 jects with knowledge and intelligence. It 

 would be well if the other sections would 

 follow this admirable example. It would 

 give the British Association much more of 

 a raison d'etre than it has at present, all 

 the more if it could also be arranged that 

 two or more sections should combine for 

 the consideration of important subjects in 

 which they have a common interest. It is 

 also felt that one important object of these 

 meetings should be to bring the younger 

 workers in the different departments of 

 science into personal relations with those 

 who have already made their reputations 

 and who, by a few kindly words of encour- 

 agement and guidance, might do much to 

 inspire the younger men with confidence 

 and enthusiasm. At present the younger 

 workers in science, who come from all parts 

 to attend these meetings, as well as those 

 who may be working at serious disadvan- 

 tage in the locality, may spend the whole 

 week diligently attending the meetings of 

 the sections and never exchange a word 

 with their distinguished seniors. The large 

 receptions that are held during the meet- 



