TH E 
NEW PHYTOhOGIST 
Vol. 2., No. 8 . October 29TH, 1903. 
THE SOUTHPORT MEETING 
OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
rilHE British Association Meeting at Southport (Sept. 9th to 
| 17th), in spite of the comparatively slight attractions pre¬ 
sented to scientific visitors by the town and neighbourhood, drew 
a more numerous attendance than many of the meetings of recent 
years, and much of the sectional work seems to have been of a 
high standard. 
To the botanist the most attractive feature of ^Southport is 
the magnificent stretch of sand dunes extending southward to the 
Mersey estuary. Not only are the general characters of sand-dune 
vegetation beautifully illustrated, but there are some exceptionally 
interesting ecological features as well as a number of uncommon 
species. 
The housing of Section K in the Chapel Street Church 
Schoolrooms was entirely satisfactory. The actual meeting-room 
was large and comfortable, with a small well-raised platform and an 
excellent lantern screen and frame for holding diagrams. The 
local Secretary, Mr. Henry Ball, gave every assistance to the 
other officers, and his hearty goodwill materially contributed to the 
successful working of the section. 
Three distinguished foreign botanists, Dr. Lotsy of Leiden, the 
general editor of the Botanisches Centralblatt , Professor Lignier of 
Caen, and Professor Atkinson of Cornell, attended the meetings of 
the Section. 
There was a very full programme, the section sitting every 
morning and afternoon with the exception of Saturday, which was 
spent in excursions. Two mornings were devoted to general pre¬ 
sentations of particular topics by means of the reading of several 
cognate papers specially prepared to supplement one another, 
followed by a discussion. This feature certainly gives more scientific 
interest to the sectional meetings than is obtained when all the 
