357 
ZOOLOGY AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
C. F. PROCTER. 
To a layman, perhaps the outstanding interest of the work of 
this section was (i) the penetration of what might be pardon- 
ably called the curtain of Professional Science ; (2) the light 
that was shewn on the means whereby a small proportion of 
organised and systematised thought determined the trend of 
knowledge, as against the huge volume of independent and 
uncollated research work by the ‘ dilletante ’ scientist ; (3) 
the new ground that was broken in every direction of zoology, 
and the ever-increasing use that is nowadays made of quanti- 
tative investigation, as exemplified by the preparation of the 
universal chart, to prepare the way for the qualitative side. 
It appears merely to be a matter of arithmetic to determine 
the plane of excellence that successive British Association 
meetings may reach, since we live in an age when scientific 
thought is not merely investigating scientific problems, but 
is applying a very fair proportion of its experience to develop- 
ing the actual means of investigation. The natural result of 
this is that the time of these annual meetings is in ever-in- 
creasing demand, and that the tone of the matter read and 
debated is constantly ascending. As befits an Association for 
the Advancement of Science, ample provision was made, not 
only that the matter should not be over the heads of a public 
of average intelligence, but that the rising school of savants 
was encouraged by a liberal allocation, in the programme, of 
time to aspiring students. 
The importance of the fishing industry to the Humber 
was perhaps responsible for a little extra prominence being 
given to marine biology and cognate subjects than would 
otherwise have been the case. A perusal of the titles of the 
papers well indicate this. 
Dr. Johannes Schmidt opened with * An Account of the 
Dana ” Expedition in the North Atlantic.’ Dr. C. G. 
Joh. Petersen, Mr. F. M. Davis, Mr. I. O. Bor ley, Professor 
R. D. Laurie, Miss E. Horsman, Mr. E. E. Watkin and Dr. 
Alexander Bowman contributed papers relating to recent 
investigations of the forces affecting the food reserves of the 
sea — currents, temperatures, fauna and their inter-relations, 
and the effects of these on the plankton and peridineans. Mr. 
I. A. Robertson, Dr. E. S. Russell, Mr. H. G. Maurice, Profes- 
sor J. Stanley Gardiner, F.R.S., Mr. G. Hall, Mr. David 
Jones, Prof. Otto Petersen, Mr. B. Storrow, Dr. Wm. Wallace 
all gave papers or addresses on the subject of Sea Fisheries, 
with special regard to the herring industry, and every phase 
of the subject was covered in a most engrossing fashion. 
1S22 Nov. 1 
