62
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
preparation of local lists which had hitherto been one of the chief
outlets for his enthusiasm. Had, therefore, the day of co-
operation of the natural history societies in scientific progress
come to an end? Prof. Ritchie was sure that it had not, and
proceeded to give his views as to the future outlook of these
societies.
He said that two notable changes had been taking place in the
development of scientific work during the present century. On
the one hand there was the marked tendency for the old indi-
vidualistic form of research to be replaced by organised team
work, and on the other there was the change in the objectives in
zoological research from the emphasis on structure for structure's
sake to that on the animal as a living thing. The combination
of these two modern tendencies offers a new field for the societies'
namely, the organised co-operation or team work directed
towards the solution of biological problems. As examples of the
sort of work intended Prof. Ritchie referred to the counts of
the numbers of certain species of birds and animals which had
already been made, to the ringing of birds, and the detailed
observation of lepidoptera in connection with migration problems.
But there is still opportunity for the individual worker on the
biological type of problem and this, unlike the mere collectors,
method, in which looking for rarefies is a predominating motive,
requires no rare material, in fact the more common a creature is
the better for learning something of the principles which regulate
the lives of animals. The case of the common sparrow was-
instanced, about which, and, indeed, about all British birds, in
spite of the fact that they are the most studied of all the com-
ponents of the British fauna, there is still much to be learned.
Yet another line of research for the individual amateur worker
is in connection with experimental biology of the simpler kind.
Darwin's test for the intelligence of earthworms, by supplying
them with triangles of paper, easily pulled in by the tip, but
with difficulty by the broad base, and Lord Avebury's experi-
ments with bees and wasps and coloured discs of paper, were
mentioned as examples of this kind of work, and Prof. Ritchie
thought that there were great possibilities in such simple ways
of testing the reactions of living things.
In conclusion he said that he did not pretend that the lines of
observation suggested would lead to great discoveries—great