VOL. XIX. (l) 
THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 
5 
The constant progress of natural knowledge has opened 
fresh lines of work to the Field Naturalist since the early days 
of the Cotteswold Club. The geographical distribution of 
plants and animals is one, and to this many Members have 
already contributed, especially as regards our flora. But 
much more remains to be done, and Wallace, the great ex- 
ponent of the subject, placed high value on the local naturalist. 
He says, in a note to the first chapter of “ Island Life : ” 
“ The employment in each of our possessions, and those of 
other European powers, of a resident naturalist at a very small 
annual expense, would have done more for the advancement of 
knowledge in this direction than all the expensive expeditions 
that have again and again circumnavigated the globe.” 
Related to and springing from the subject of Geographical 
Distribution we find the new science of Ecology, dealing with 
organisms at home, and studying in detail their relations to 
one another and the physical environment. Here we have the 
opportunity, with pleasure and profit, of giving fresh values to 
familiar facts, a case of “ new lamps for old.” Plants have so 
far received most attention in this way, working on lines laid 
down by Schimper and Warming, and elaborately developed 
by the American School. We might with advantage, as a 
Club, make a beginning by preparing a map of the county, as 
has been done in Yorkshire and elsewhere, indicating the main 
boundaries of the plant geography, and distinguishing between 
woodland, swamp, pasture, and so forth. Within each area 
so delimited, endless problems concerning plant “ associations ” 
await solution. We shall find, for example, that the woodland 
flora has certain characteristic features, differing with the kind 
of wood, whether deciduous or coniferous, and with many other 
factors. We firstly determine the actual facts of the case, 
and then endeavour to adequately explain them. More 
fascinating but more difficult problems are presented by Animal 
Ecology, where particularly abundant material is afforded by 
birds and insects. And that the complex lives of plants and 
animals are interwoven in a complex living network needs no 
demonstration. 
The Field Naturalist can also study and add to the theories 
of Variation and Heredity, which are the foundations of 
