Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/133

 Repoi't of Brand Cotuniitfec. i i 7

recorded material is available for other counties, but workers are needed to complete it ; and for several hardly anything has been done, especially for Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, the Fenland, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Kent, and the south-eastern counties generally.

For Scotland, Gregor's North- East Scot/ and, Mrs. Spoer's Outer Is/cs, and ten or twelve other volumes have been slipped. The Orkney and Shetland collections have been completed and slipped by Mr. A. W. Johnston, and Mr. David MacRitchie has forwarded a useful collection of newspaper cuttings accumulated during a series of years. Hut, though much Scottish Folklore has been recorded, it chiefly consists of stories and legends, principally Gaelic. Lowland Folklore is ill-represented, and customs have been little noted anywhere. Local workers are wanted. .An effort was made at the Dundee Meeting of the British .\ssociation in 191 2 to draw attention to the subject, and it is hoped the suggestion may bear fruit. In Ireland an independent Committee was founded a year or two ago for the purpose of collecting oral traditions. Mr. Westropp has kindly sent a valuable list of references to Irish publications. Wales is well supplied with first- hand printed collections, most of which have been, or are being, read and "slipped," but readers acquainted with the Welsh language are still needed. In the Isle of Man there is still much to be done. In the Channel Islands the Guernsey collection is completed, but hardly anything has been received from Jersey.

It will be seen that the Committee have in their hands a large amount of material for the preparation of a book of great value ; but there can be no doubt that the revision, and the elimination of repetitions in the material before them, will be a work of considerable labour.

Taking account of the mere order of the Contents the possibilities of the work ma)- be generally indicated, but the Committee feel that it will be inadvisable to