12 Transactions of the Society. 



the past year, and that is the re-arrangement and organization of 

 the Cabinet of Slides by Messrs. Earland and Shepherd. It is 

 difficult for those of us who were not at least in partial contact 

 with this work to realize what it involved, and the close application 

 that it entailed. It should be appreciated that this Cabinet is 

 of considerable value, and one to which the Fellows would do 

 well to refer to a much greater extent. Some of the slides are 

 unique, others are of great historic interest, while all, as the result 

 of selection and re-arrangement, are well worth consideration. 



It was found, however, that at present there are hardly any 

 workers devoting their attention to the structure of diatoms. Those 

 of us who read the back numbers of our Journal know that many 

 optical improvements in the microscope have taken place as a result 

 of the demand which has been put forward by diatom workers; 

 In endeavouring to re-arrange the slides in the Cabinet of this class 

 it was difficult to find any Fellow with the requisite knowledge who 

 could devote the necessary time to the purpose. I am sure that 

 this is a matter of regret to many of us, and I appeal to those who 

 are not fully occupied with other researches to make an effort to 

 regain for the Society the pre eminence it once enjoyed in this 

 direction. 



Bacteriology is another branch in which I should like to see 

 more work done. It is, I think, erroneously assumed that this 

 involves the use of elaborate laboratory equipment, but a con- 

 siderable amount can be done with simple apparatus. There is the 

 further point that it generally demands the use of optical appliances 

 and high-power objectives which, to get the best results, must be 

 used at their best. Take, for example, the work that has re- 

 cently been published in connexion with a group of organisms, if 

 I may refer to them as such, known as " filter-passers," particu- 

 larly in connexion with trench fever, influenza, and other diseases. 

 On the microscopic side, it is at the very limit of what the finest 

 objectives are capable of doing, using them at their best. But the 

 average bacteriologist rarely takes full advantage of the appliances 

 availal)le, I will not labour the point, but I trust that I have said 

 enough to indicate that there is work to be done, and that the 

 expert microscopist is the one to do it. 



Perhaps our greatest need at the moment is for more convenient 

 and better-equipped premises. Our meeting-room is not all that 

 we could wish, and we certainly need better accommodation for the 

 library and instruments. We should have some equipment so that 

 microscopic work of the highest class could be done here, or at least 

 in close connexion with the Society. We should encourage younger 

 men to enter, so that the enthusiasm of youth might act as an 

 antidote to the undue caution of maturity. It might even be 

 advisable to consider the institution of a class of membership which 

 would be open to the young university student or graduate, carry- 



