(c) The influence of the plant world on the earth's surface. Most sub-aera plants penetrate into the soil for purposes of attachment or absorption of food material. Their action may be a physical one only, or a chemical one in addition Plants are as often responsible for the first crumbling away of the solid rock as for the binding together of loose soil. These three subjects are of great interest to the geographer, but ecology is in addition of the greatest importance to the traveller. Ecology teaches the traveller how to analyse and classify the forms of ver tation met with. He is enabled through it to make out many of the prevaile conditions by reference to the plant forms observed. He is also enabled to give i scientifically accurate account of what he has seen, because he understands th relation existing between the plants and the conditions under which they a living. A knowledge of ecology should, in fact, be considered a most necessar part of the scientific equipment of any professional traveller. 2. The Observation of Features of Vegetation in Geographical Descriptions or even notes on vegetation are not a feature in the majority ef papers in English relating to travel and exploration. Yet the vegetation of a country is, after the configuration, the most important factor in a landscape There are in existing books and papers descriptions of vegetation which show the these can be made, and that thereby the utility of the observations is greatly extended, not only from an economic aspect, but also in the direction of plan geography. Considerable progress has been made towards representing the vegetation of a country on maps. This is done by recording the limits of dist bution of the most abundant (or dominant) plants, such as trees; and already the vegetation of considerable tracts of Britain, Europe, and North America has bez charted. The detail in simple cases shows the region of deciduous trees & distinct from that of coniferous trees, and the forest lands as contrasted with treeless. Or greater detail may be shown, as in the series of maps now being issued in Britain. Vegetation charts of all parts of the earth would be a distinct gain to plant geography. The scope of such a survey for any area would depend on the map available and on the observer's knowledge of plants. In the case of a party which included a botanist and traversed a country with fairly complete map there should be considerable opportunity of ascertaining and recording the limit of important dominant plants. Such a survey, accompanied by the collecting of plants, would furnish material of great value. In the case of an expedition it an area poorly charted there would still be opportunities of collecting fragmentary evidence regarding vegetation. Notes on the dominant plants could be made a places where geographical observations were taken, and where a change occurred from one type of vegetation to another the limit could be ascertained with as much accuracy as possible. Even in a case where the dominant plants were unknown to the observer a small collection of them labelled by numbers for reference could be afterwards identified. An acquaintance with the methods of botanical survey followed in Britain and elsewhere would be a useful preliminary for intending travellers. 3. Botanical Survey of the Basins of the Rivers Eden, Tees, Tyne, and Wear. By FRANCIS J. LEWIS, F.L.S. The survey was begun during the summer of 1900, and had for its object the mapping of the various plant associations and observations on the different factors governing their distribution. The whole of the work has been done with the aid of the 6-inch Ordnance maps, the boundaries of the different associations as observed in the field being drawn on these, and subsequently reduced on to smaller scale maps. The salient features of the vegetation may be summarised as follows: The region of cultivation is very restricted, and chiefly confined to altitudes below 1,000 feet, and the greater part of it is under permanent pasture, although cultivation with oats is carried on below 800 feet. The region of woodland is poorly represented, and may be divided into (1) oak woods, (2) coniferous woods, (3) birch woods. The oak woods occur only below 800 feet, and coniferous and birch woods only in a few instances reach an elevation of 1,000 feet. An examination of the peat on the higher fells shows that the ground has not always been of its present treeless nature. Remains of birch, alder, and poplar may frequently be discovered buried about 16 or 18 feet down in the peat, and the author has observed extensive remains of birch as high as 2,400 feet, being higher than it grows anywhere in Great Britain at the present time. Remains of pine also occur as high as 2,600 feet on Cross Fell. Sections are being made through the peat in areas now covered by heather moors, Eriophorum bogs and Sphagnum bogs, and sufficient evidence has been collected from these sections to show that nearly the whole of the high-lying watersheds of the Tees, Tyne, and Wear have at some former time been covered with extensive woods of birch and pine. The heather Pasture associations are chiefly represented by grass heaths dominated by either Nardus stricta or Molinia varia, according as they occur in well-drained or wet situations. The natural pasture is limited to outcrops of limestone free from peat, and is generally met with in narrow bands or patches, sometimes occurring in the midst of extensive grass heaths or heather areas. associations reach their greatest development in the Mickle Fell district on limestone covered with peat. The Stainmore district, to the south of this, consists of sandstones, grits, and shales, and the chief associations here are Eriophorum bogs and Sphagnum bogs. These associations also attain a great development on the sandstones and shales of the Wear watershed. The chief artificial agency at work tending to modify the vegetation in some places appears to be overstocking with sheep, the constant browsing, treading, and manuring tending to kill the natural heather vegetation. Under these circumstances the heather area in a badly drained situation may be changed into an Eriophorum bog, and in a dry, well-drained position into a poor grass heath chiefly dominated by Nardus stricta and Juncus squarrosus. A detailed account of this survey, with maps, will be published in the 'Geographical Journal,' and the author hopes to extend the area of observation northward to the Cheviots and westward to the coast covering the northern portion of the Lake District. 4. Peat Moors of the Southern Pennines: their Age and Origin. By C. E. Moss, B.Sc. The present condition of these moors is first considered, and the author classifies them as (i.) Cotton-grass Moors, (ii.) Heather Moors, and (iii.) Grassy Moors. The question as to whether or not the Pennines were prehistorically treeclad is next discussed, and evidence is considered from (i.) history, (ii.) place-names, (iii.) buried timber, (iv.) neolithic flints, and (v.) present range of British forest trees. The conclusion is arrived at that, though the Pennine slopes were tree-clad so late as Saxon and Danish times, yet at that period the summits were covered with an extensive morass. This morass was caused by the destruction or decay of forests which existed on the Pennine summits so late probably as the Roman period. In order to check the estimate suggested by the above conclusions the mode and rate of formation of peat are considered. The author discusses (i.) the rapid formation and (ii.) the slow formation of peat, and (iii.) the plants which form peat at the present time; and he considers that as a rule the peat moors of the Pennines cannot date to a period further back than about two thousand years. The paper concludes with remarks on the possible utilisation of the Pennine peat moors, 5. Queensland. By J. P. THOMSON. After a brief allusion to some of the main landmarks in the history of Queensland the paper proceeds to give a general sketch of the physical features of the State, describing its mountain and river systems and the three great natural regions into which it may be subdivided on physical and climatic grounds. These are (1) the eastern division, lying between the coast and the great dividing range, consisting of well-watered fertile lands clothed in the northern part with vegetation of unsurpassed luxuriance; (2) the watershed of the Gulf of Carpentaria, wholly tropical, but mainly adapted rather for pastoral than agricultural purposes; and (3) the vast western district, embracing the famous downs country, unsurpassed for richness of soil and magnificence of climate, the only drawback being the uncertain and scanty rainfall, the want of which is, however, to some extent supplied by its artesian resources. The geological structure, in regard to which an entire difference is noticeable between the east and the west of the State, is next comprehensively described, attention being paid to the influence of geological facts on the possibilities of artesian development. The mineral wealth consisting primarily of gold, but including copper, silver, antimony, and tin ores; coal, opal, gems, bismuth, wolfram, manganese, and lead-is described as practically inexhaustible, and an account is given of the most valuable deposits yet exploited. The main characters of the flora and fauna are next described, special attention being paid to the products of most economic importance. In describing the climate of Queensland the author points out the special advantages possessed by the southern districts and the curative properties of the dry and buoyant air of the western plains. The distribution of the rainfall is discussed, and details are given of the artesian water supply which supplements this in the interior districts. Possibilities of storage of river water for irrigation are also touched upon. Coming next to the industrial resources of Queensland, the author points out the unrivalled advantages given by its position with regard to the great commercial highways of the East, its fine natural harbours and its coast protected from the ocean by the Great Barrier reef. The present population is but a fraction of that needed for its satisfactory development, and the immigration of Polynesians is a necessity for the cultivation of the tropical portion. At present the pastoral industry is more fully developed than either mining or agriculture, the sheep, cattle, and horses numbering some scores of millions when not handicapped by droughts. The agricultural industry is at present limited to the eastern settled district from Cookstown south, but with irrigation the rich western region might produce immense quantities of grain. In addition to sugar the coast region produces maize, tobacco, coffee, cotton, arrowroot, &c., and fruit-growing might be taken up with profit. The great need is an enormously larger population to settle on the land and develop its vast resources, The scientific matter will be published in the Geographical Journal. SECTION F.-ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND STATISTICS, PRESIDENT OF THE SECTION-EDWARD W. BRABROOK, C.B. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10. The President delivered the following Address: IT is a coincidence, which has great interest for me personally, that the honour of being President of this Section has fallen to me in the last year of my engagement in the public service. I am now in the sixty-fifth year of my age and the thirtyfifth of my connection with the Registry of Friendly Societies, and in a few months the guillotine of the Order in Council will fall, and the Department and its present head will be severed. The consequences are not so tragic as they sound, for the Department will at once find a new head, and the old head will contrive to maintain a separate existence. I therefore meet the stroke of fate with cheerfulness; for I am strongly of opinion that the arrangements for retirement from the Civil Service of the country are as wise as they are liberal. It is a good thing that the place of a man whose ideas have grown old and become fixed, and whose long service indisposes him to entertain new ones, should be taken by a younger man anxious to make his own mark on the administration of his department. Again, the prospect of promotion opened up by the limited term of service of the older men is a distinct inducement to able and ambitious young men to devote themselves to their country's service. I have lately had occasion to give minute and careful attention to one branch of this important question, and the study of the whole subject which has thus been rendered necessary has strongly confirmed the conviction I previously entertained that the system of retirement which now prevails greatly tends to promote the efficiency of the Civil Service and the interests of the country. I do not apologise for saying this much on a subject into which I was led by an observation that concerns me personally, for the means of securing efficiency in the public service is an important economic question. The The coincidence to which I refer tempts me to choose as the principal subject of the Address which I am permitted and enjoined to deliver to the Section on this occasion that small corner of the great field of Economics in which I have been a day labourer for so long, and I am not able to resist the temptation. My piece of allotment ground, if I may so call it, is that which is devoted to the cultivation of thrift, or of economy in the popular rather than the scientific sense. temptation is strengthened by the circumstance that that subject has rarely been treated by my predecessors. Sir Robert Giffen in his Address of 1887 referred to it, and Sir Charles Fremantle in 1892 treated it at somewhat greater length. In old times, when the Chair of this Section was more frequently occupied by the practical statesman than by the professed economist, there were passing allusions to it by Henry Fawcett in 1872, William Edward Forster in 1873, and Sir Richard Temple in 1884; but in more recent years the accomplished economists who have presided over this Section, notably my immediate predecessor, have delivered luminous and memorable Addresses on the broad principles of Economics, the application and potency of its doctrines, and their serviceableness to mankind, with a comprehensiveness of view that is only attainable as the result of deep study, and a brilliancy of exposition that belongs to philosophic insight. I may here, in passing, express the satisfaction we all feel that at Cambridge, where we are to meet next year, proficiency in Economics and Political Science is now fully recognised as qualifying for academical honours. I have spoken of the subject of Thrift as a small corner of the great field of Economics; and relatively to the broad field itself it is so; but it is a subject that deals with large figures and intimately affects large numbers of people. The 2,000 Building Societies in Great Britain and Ireland have 600,000 members and sixty-two millions of funds; the 28,000 bodies registered under the Friendly Societies Act have 12,000,000 members and forty-three millions of funds; the 2,000 co-operative societies have 2,000,000 members and forty millions of funds; the 600 trade unions have more than a million and a half members and nearly five millions of funds; in the 13,000 Post Office and other savings banks there are more than 10,000,000 depositors and more than 200 millions invested; so that upon the whole in nearly 50,000 thrift organisations with which the Registry of Friendly Societies has, in one form or other, to deal there are twenty-seven millions of persons interested and 360 millions of money engaged. These figures, however, possess no significance other than that they are very big. Many individuals are necessarily counted more than once, as belonging to more than one society in one class, or to more than one class of societies. Some portion of the funds of Friendly Societies is invested in savings banks, and therefore is counted twice over. Some of the co-operative societies, as, for example, the wholesale societies, have for capital the contributions of other societies, which thus are also counted twice over. On the other hand, the aggregate, large as it is, is necessarily defective. It includes only bodies which are brought into relation with the Registry of Friendly Societies in one or other of the functions exercised by that department. It does not include, therefore, many co-operative and other bodies which are registered under the Companies Act, nor the Industrial Assurance Companies which are regulated by the Assurance Companies Act, nor does it include the great body of Friendly Societies which are not registered at all. Among these shop clubs hold a prominent position, and these are very numerous. The Royal Commissioners of thirty years ago thought that the unregistered were then commensurate with the registered bodies; and as one result of the legislation which the Commissioners recommended has been to diminish the applications for registry made by such societies as are subjected by it to the necessity of a periodical valuation of assets and liabilities, there seems no reason to think that unregistered societies are relatively now any fewer than they were then. It would seem, then, that the figures we have cited are well within the mark, and that, used for the mere purpose of indicating the magnitude of the interests involved, they may be relied upon as not over-estimating it. The observation just made leads to the question, why should there be so many unregistered societies? Why, indeed, should there be any unregistered societies? The National Conference of Friendly Societies, which consists wholly of registered bodies, has just passed a resolution recommending the enactment of a law that all societies should be compelled to register. Why not? I think it will not be difficult to find the real answer to these questions. It was given as long ago as 1825 by a Committee of the House of Commons in these wise words:- It is only in consideration of advantages conferred by law that any restrictive interference can be justified with voluntary associations established for lawful and innocent purposes. It is for the individuals themselves to determine whether to adopt the provisions of the statute, which offers them at the same time regulation and privilege, or to remain perfectly unfettered by anything but their own will, and the common or more ancient law against fraud or embezzlement,' which common or more ancient law was strengthened in 1868 by the Act known as Russell Gurney's Act. For your Committee apprehend that although the Act |