CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 311
indicated by the support given to each subject by the Societies ; and a copy
of this should be sent to the Delegates or Societies as an agenda paper before
the first meeting of the Delegates."
In bringing forward these resolutions Mr. Harold Wager, representing
the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, which comprises a large number of local
Societies, said that the Union had called together a committee consisting of a
number of their more prominent members, and they had formulated the two
resolutions copies of which had been distributed. It was considered most
important that the representatives of the local Societies should, if possible,
themselves suggest the subjects for discussion. Much good work had been
done at these Conferences, but those whom he represented thought that if
direct suggestions from the local Societies were invited, the wants of the
Societies would be more advantageously considered than they had been in the
past, and that they would come into closer touch with each other.
A very long discussion took place, which is fully reported in the Reports
of the Association, and the following are Prof. Poulton's remarks concerning
the same.—Ed.]
I went to the first meeting of Delegates at Bradford fully
prepared to support the motion of the Yorkshire Naturalists'
Union, and quite thinking it reasonable that questions of local
Natural History Society organization and management were
more appropriate subject for the meeting of Delegates than the
consideration of papers which might be read in the Sections. It
soon appeared, however, that no suggestions of the kind for the
year 1900 had ever reached the Organizing Committee. Only
one suggestion had been offered to the Committee and that they
had accepted.
The general conclusion of the meeting was, therefore, that
no revolutionary measures were necessary until the regular
methods had been exhausted, and that the first thing to do was to
induce the local Societies through their secretaries to forward to
the Organizing Committee suggestions of subjects bearing on
management and organization.
I was, unfortunately, obliged by the necessity for attendance
at another section, to be absent from the second meeting of
Delegates at which there was a paper by Prof. Miall on "Dew-
ponds," followed by an interesting discussion.
In order to carry out my instructions at the first meeting,
I invite the Essex Field Club to discuss questions of organiza-
tion and decide upon special subjects for the Secretary to suggest
to the Organization Committee as suitable for the deliberations
of the Delegates at Glasgow.
Edward B. Poulton.
Oxford.