236 NOTES ON THE CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES.
little temporary protection from the browsing of the cattle and the
deer. You are aware of some of the experiments we have made
in this direction by putting a slight fence round certain areas.
Possibly a still more hopeful experiment is to throw down groups
of valueless pollard trees with all the branches on, thus protecting
the seedlings until they have grown through these branches to a
height of four or five feet.
In conclusion let me urge that every one who aspires to be a
forester should exercise his imagination. He works for posterity.
It is essential for his success that he should, with full knowledge of
natural processes, have ever present in his mind the probable results
of his operations, not only in this generation, but fifty or a hundred
years hence.
NOTES ON THE CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES
OF THE CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES OF
THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION, LIVERPOOL,
1896.
OUR much esteemed Hon. Mem., Mr. Whitaker, had been
nominated Chairman of the Corresponding Societies Com-
mittee, by the Council of the British Association, for the Liverpool
Meeting. Unfortunately he was prevented by serious illness from
being present at the Conference,1 his place being taken by Dr.
Garson, who has always shown much interest in these meetings.
The delegates were more numerous than usual, a most gratifying
fact. At Oxford and Ipswich the first meetings of the Conference
were mainly occupied with a short paper and the discussion thereon.
At Liverpool both meetings of the Conference were largely devoted
to the reading and discussion of short, definite papers.
The first was by Mr. G. Abbott, M.R.C.S., of Tunbridge Wells
(Secretary to the South-Eastern Union of Scientific Societies), on
District Unions of Natural History Societies. This subject, as Mr.
Abbott noted, has very recently occupied the attention of two of the
past presidents of the Essex Field Club, Professors Meldola and
Boulger. The remarks of Prof. Meldola may be read in "Nature"
for June 4th, 1896 ; those of Prof. Boulger in "Natural Science" for
September, 1896. The first-named paper is entitled "The Work of
1 I am glad to be able to add that Mr. Whitaker is now (Oct. 14th) very much better.