180 THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
It was also a question whether it would be desirable to introduce
animals which had become extinct in this country, such as the
elk, reindeer, wild pig and the beaver. It might not be possible
to get the right food for them in Scotland and that would make
them difficult to acclimatise. There was one animal, however,
namely, the Irish stoat, which only occurs in Ireland, which
should be introduced into a national park if one were provided
in Scotland.
The remainder of the address was devoted to the important
questions of finance and management, but these scarcely seem to
call for notice in this report.
In the course of some remarks following the President's
address, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell said that he agreed that a
national park in Scotland would probably be the best beginning
for the series of national parks contemplated. He also said that
he would like to see added to the animals now extinct in Britain,
but to be introduced into the park, a pack of wolves ! Dr.
Vaughan Cornish pointed out that a national park in Scotland
was not for Scotland only, but for Britain as a whole, and Mr.
Forrest reported that the polecat is now flourishing in newly
afforested areas.
In a joint communication by Mr. N. B. Kinnear and Dr. M. F.
Valentine some account was given of the National Trust proper-
ties in East Anglia, with special reference to Scolt Head,
Blakeney Point and Wicken Fen. It was incidentally mentioned
that no part of the characteristic "Breckland" was yet in the
care of the National Trust.
At the second meeting of the Conference Dr. H. W. Parker
spoke on "The co-operation of Corresponding Societies in the
study of systematics in relation to general biology." He re-
ferred to the paper by our President, read at the previous
Delegates' Conference, concerning the formation of an Association
for the study of systematics in relation to general biology, and
then gave some account of what had been done since that date.
A questionnaire had been submitted to certain specialists as to
the state of our knowledge of various animal groups. Answers
were now being received, and it was clear that in nearly all groups
there was lack of information as regards distribution. Much
further work was evidently required, and it was proposed to adopt