Wednesday, July llth. 



121 



will come forward and undertake the task of cataloguing our 

 valuable and interesting collection of Wiltshire birds on the lines 

 laid down by Eev. A. 0. Smith, and who would in addition make 

 up a good collection of the eggs of Wiltshire birds, not in these 

 days a difficult task to anyone who has the time and taste to bestow 

 upon such an undertaking. 



The library continues to grow ; the third Appendix to the Library 

 Catalogue contained some three hundred and thirty printed items 

 acquired between July, 1897, and December, 1899, most of them 

 the result of gifts of single pamphlets or books by Members. The 

 ■ most notable addition in the way of printed books during the past 

 year was Lord Stourton's privately printed * History of the Noble 

 House of Stourton.' The Committee would venture to point out 

 that old deeds, court rolls, &c, can hardly find a more useful home 

 than in the Society's library, where they will come under the 

 careful editing of Mr. A. Story-Maskelyne. 



" Again we must refer to the military works on Salisbury Plain. 

 Enormous excavations are taking place for the purpose of levelling 

 and improving ranges and erecting butts. As these works are 

 chiefly being carried on by contractors who know nothing of 

 antiquities, we greatly fear that much of archaeological interest 

 runs the risk of being lost for ever. We made an appeal to our 

 Patron and Trustee last year, The Marquis of Lansdowne, the 

 present War Minister, to uphold and preserve from destruction the 

 earth works and other relics of antiquity with which the Plain 

 abounds to an extent to which no other part of this country does, 

 and received in return a courteous and valuable reply. 



" On the cover of the Magazine attention is drawn to the subjects 

 of churchyard inscriptions and photographs. In some counties 

 these subjects are being taken up in a serious and systematic way. 

 It is hoped that workers with time and skill may be found among 

 our Members who will undertake the tasks indicated. We 

 gratefully draw attention to the work done by Mr. T. H. Baker, 

 our newly-appointed Local Secretary for Salisbury, who has done 

 a great deal of hard work during the past year in copying the 

 church and churchyard inscriptions in that neighbourhood. He 



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