176 NOTES ON REPORT OF CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES
some uniform plan of photographing geological subjects should be
adopted. Also that the plates used should be orthochromatic or
isochromatic.
The co-operation of the Corresponding Societies was also sought
by the Committee appointed to consider the Circulation of Under-
ground Waters in the permeable formations of England; by that to
record the positions of Erratic Blocks; and by that appointed to
collect evidence on the rate of erosion of the sea coasts of England
and Wales.
The two subjects, however, which caused most discussion at
Edinburgh were the disappearance of native plants and the
destruction of wild birds' eggs. As regards the native plants, an
interesting letter from Mr. Leo Grindon was read dealing with their
disappearance in the district within a radius of fifteen miles round
Manchester. Mr. Grindon remarked that the wild, uncultivated
moorlands had remained unchanged. But agricultural improve-
ments, which had converted peatmosses and sandy wastes into
comparatively fertile land, had caused the local disappearance of
certain moss and moor plants, while the dye-polluted streams were
forsaken by the Forget-me-not and other water-loving species. As
regards the wilful destruction of plants, Mr. Grindon thought that
the herb-doctors or "medical botanists" had caused much destruc-
tion of those supposed to have medicinal value, such as the
Erythroea centaurium. Dealers in roots for gardens also caused
much damage, as they sometimes completely stripped certain spots
of certain kinds of ferns, of primroses, and of cowslips. Rev. Canon
Tristram added that in Durham, during his lifetime, some of the
most interesting species of plants and also some of the most remark-
able varieties of butterflies and moths had been thus exterminated.
It would be interesting to know the experience of Essex botanists
and entomologists in this matter. On the one hand there can have
been no transformation of moor and moss into agricultural land in
Essex at all comparable to that which has taken place in some of the
northern counties, nor are dye-polluted streams a new and hideous
feature of this district. But the dealers in ferns, primroses, and
other plants for the London market have probably been even more
destructive than those of Manchester and Durham.
An interesting account was given at Edinburgh by the Rev. E. P.
Knubley of the destruction of wild birds' eggs owing to the rapacity
of dealers and collectors. One collector living in Edinburgh was