British Association Notes and Comments. 243 
G. Hickling and Mr. C. E. Marshall gave the result of ‘ Recent 
studies of plant structure in coal.’ In Section D (Zoology) 
Mr. A. Roebuck referred to ‘ The Rook in the Rural economy 
of the Midlands,’ and Mr. M. A. C. Hinton to * The Musk -rat 
and its problem ’ ; Mr. P. S. Milne ‘ The distribution of 
Insects by currents at various levels in the atmosphere ’ ; 
Mr. M. Graham on ‘ Prediction of North Sea cod fisheries,’ 
and Mr. E. Ford on * Growth in length and change in form 
with increasing ages in fishes, especially the herring.’ In 
Section E (Geography) Dr. H. C. Darby read on ‘ The 
geographical conceptions of a medieval bishop,’ and Prof. 
E. G. R. Taylor on ‘ Economic geography of early Stuart 
England.’ In G (Engineering) Mr. H. F. Atter contributed 
‘ Legal aspects of river pollution,’ and Mr. M. Du-Plat -Taylor 
on ‘ Sea defences and reclamation of land from the sea.’ In 
this we learn that * the loss by coastal erosion and the gain 
of land by accretion around the coasts of Great Britain about 
balance, but the land lost is generally good agricultural land, 
and even parts of towns or villages, and the gain is only sand 
or shingle.’ In Section H (Anthropology) Mr. H. W. Elgee 
gave an extraordinary address on ‘ The Mother Earth Cult 
in N.E. Yorkshire.’ In Section K (Botany) Miss L. I. Scott 
and Prof. J. H. Priestley read a paper on ‘ The Monocotyledon 
and shoot from the standpoint of development ’ ; Dr. D. M. 
Wilson on ‘The life-history of some British Fern PI nts. 
Supplementing these addresses were several excursions to 
factories, engineering and chemical works, geological and 
botanical areas, etc. 
T. S. 
THE MIDLAND COALFIELD. 
In his address to the Geological Section, Prof. W. G. 
Fearnsides sketched the Midland coalfield province, lying 
within a circle of 60 miles round Buxton, bounded on the 
north by the rigid block of Craven, on the west by the com- 
pacted ridges of Denbighshire and the Berwyns, on the south 
by the ragged ribs of ancient rock fringing the Midland barrier 
of St. George’s Land, and on the east buried beneath thick 
Permian, Trias, and Jurassic Rocks, where no man has seen or 
touched the rocks below the Carboniferous. He said that 
within this province are nearly 1,000 working mines, 500 of 
them each employing more than a hundred men in the winning 
and working of above 120 million tons of coal per year, or 
more than half the total mineral wrought underground in 
Britain. 
SCIENTIFIC JARGON. 
In his address referred to elsewhere, Dr. R. E. M. Wheeler 
1933 Nov. 1 
