president's address. 293 



wish has sometimes been expressed, and I think was noticed by- 

 Mr. Wheeler in his Address last year, to form sections of the 

 Club for the study of separate branches of naturaj. science. It 

 seems to me that this might possibly be attended with good re- 

 sults, and that at any rate no harm could arise from allowing 

 those interested in any special subject to associate themselves 

 together as a section under suitable regulations. The formal 

 consent of the Committee should in all cases be required (some 

 minimum number of members being fixed for each section), and 

 in the event of a separate route or order of proceeding being 

 adopted by a section for any particular Field Meeting, a speci- 

 fied term of notice should be required to be given to the general 

 Secretaries, if it is wished that such arrangement should appear 

 in the circulars of the Club. I am not myself very sanguine 

 that much good would arise from this course, but I cannot see 

 the possibility of any evil result ; while if any group of students 

 think it to their advantage so to associate themselves we ought 

 not, I think, to oppose any unnecessary obstacles. 



With a constituency of six hundred members scattered over 

 the entire surface of two counties, we may reasonably ask whe- 

 ther more use might not be made of the observing and recording 

 faculties of the great bulk of these who are not definitely given 

 to science but who yet possess, doubtless, a large share of inter- 

 est in what they see round about them. Except in the matter 

 of meteorological observation, I am not aware that our Club has 

 yet availed itself systematically of this latent power. Our me- 

 teorological reports have indeed gradually grown in interest and 

 comprehensiveness (thanks to the energy and diligence of suc- 

 cessive editors and their staff of contributors) for many years 

 past, until there is now I believe no similar series of local obser- 

 vations at all comparable to them for fulness. But why should 

 we not go further, and endeavour to enlist as observers those 

 who do not trouble themselves about meteorology. As a speci- 

 men of what might be done in this way I may refer to a circular 

 issued some years ago to its members by the Woolhope Natu- 

 ralists' Club, inviting information as to the remarkable trees of 



