Report of Delegate to Corresponding Societies' Conference. 75 



that what we have to do is to educate the man in the street, and 

 convince him that pure science is a good thing for him. The 

 Principal did not seem to think that we could hope to get at the 

 government till the masses were converted. Another speaker 

 advocated commencing with the " boy in the street," and others 

 dealt with their success or their difficulties in working this lowest 

 stratum, rather than with Sir Norman's proposal to force the 

 government to give more help. 



Mr. Munn Rankin afterwards read a valuable paper on " The 

 Methods and Results of a Botanical Survey of Counties." He 

 called attention to the great interest of plant-groupings or 

 associations, and showed how new life may be put into the study 

 of systematic Botany by the consideration of plants in relation to 

 their neighbours and their environment. He called upon Natural 

 History Societies throughout the country to do their part in 

 mapping out the areas of the various well-marked associations. 



I strongly recommend consideration of this subject to Belfast 

 botanists, and may mention that Mr. Praeger has already taken up 

 the mapping of a district near Dublin in the way suggested. 



