164 



Xotes and Coniniejits. 



1903, p. 348). The society has kindly enabled us to reproduce 

 the illustration of this capture. 



Whilst the society is to be cong"ratulated on the continuance 

 of its valuable publications, and the preference given to papers 

 of local interest, we cannot compliment the editor on the long-est 

 paper in the volume, viz., that on 'Ancient Egypt.' Not that 

 there is anything- wrong- with the paper itself — it appears to 

 be admirable in its way, but it is certainly out of place in a 

 local publication — and would have been better if included 

 amongst the ' Abstracts of Lectures ' given at the end of the 

 volume. What student of Egyptology would think of examining 

 a file of Transactions of this Natural History Society for a 

 paper dealing with the ruins of Karnak ? 



LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES. 

 At the recent Annual Meeting of the Leeds Philosophical 

 and Literary Society, the President (Prof. A. Smithells) had 

 occasion to complain of the lack of interest and support given 

 to the Society. The present membership of the Society is 356 ; 

 in 1890 it was 574, and in 1870 643. There is a deficit of over 

 £100 on the past year's balance-sheet. There is a considerable 

 falling off in the number of visitors to the Museum as compared 

 with the average number of visitors for the previous ten years. 

 Were it not for the large income derived from letting the 

 Society's rooms it is difficult to say what position it would 

 be in. Yet this particular function was hardly the raison 

 d'etre of the Society, and certainly several of those hiring the 

 rooms can hardly be looked upon as either ' Literary' or ' Philo- 

 sophical.' There can be no question that the days of the old 

 ' Lit. and Phils.' are over. Their work is done in other ways 

 and by other societies. Times have changed since they were 

 founded. The Leeds Society only occupies the position of 

 dozens of others. Some have succumbed altog"ether to the 

 changed conditions. Others have developed into popular lime- 

 light lecture and concert-providing institutions, letting off their 

 rooms to spiritualistic meetings, for ' health ' lectures by quack 

 doctors, political meetings, or for any purpose under the sun so 

 long as the hire of the room is paid. As a rule the Society's 

 Museum becomes a burden to the funds, and suffers. Where 

 it can be handed over to the town this should be done. It has 

 been done in some towns with good results. Doubtless the 

 Leeds Museum could be made still more useful under some such 

 conditions. 



Naturalist, 



