PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 271 



The President, on rising to give his animal address to the Society, 

 said that when the Society did him the honour of asking him to accept 

 the office of President, he had some hesitation as to acceding to their 

 request ; in the first place because he was not now so much in London 

 as formerly, and in the second place because the state of his eyes did not 

 permit him to do much microscopic work. Hence he felt rather doubtful 

 if he ought to occupy such a position. However, the Council persisted 

 in their request that he would do so, and he had given way to their 

 appeal, as he so highly appreciated the honour which they proposed to 

 confer upon him that he felt he could not decline. The responsibility 

 of the position was, however, borne upon him again when he had to 

 consider the subject for the annual address. His distinguished prede- 

 cessor in that chair had taken the subject of the Seeds of Fossil Plants. 

 and following this precedent, he decided to address them on the subject 

 of the seeds and fruits of modern British Plants (confining his attention 

 on the present occasion to those of the Dicotyledons), and, if the subject 

 proved acceptable, to take the seeds and fruits of the Conifers and 

 Monocotyledons as the topic of his address of next year. He then 

 proceeded to read an extremely interesting paper on the seeds of the 

 various orders of flowering plants and trees, with special reference to 

 the methods by which they were distributed — remarking at the close 

 that he feared the subject might have been wearisome to some persons, 

 although if he had failed to interest them he was sure it was not the 

 fault of the seeds themselves. 



Mr. Disney said he had very great pleasure in proposing a very 

 hearty vote of thanks to the President for the interesting and suggestive 

 address to which they had just had the pleasure of listening. The 

 subject was somewhat novel as regarded that Society, but he felt sure 

 that it had been none the less welcome on that account, and that all 

 would look forward with expectation to the continuation which the 

 President had promised. He also wished — in addition to showing their 

 appreciation of the address — to express their indebtedness to Lord 

 Avebury for accepting the office of President of their Society. 



Mr. Wynne E. Baxter, in seconding the vote of thanks, reminded the 

 Fellows of the Society that this was not the first time they had been 

 indebted to the President for an address, for when in 1877 the Council 

 decided to establish a " Quekett Lecture," the first one was delivered by 

 their present President, "On the Anatomy of the Ant." They were not 

 only under great obligation to him for the address given to them that 

 evening, but also for having consented to become their President for 

 another year. 



Mr. Disney then put the proposal to the Meeting, when it was carried 

 unanimously by acclamation. 



The President said he felt greatly indebted to the mover and seconder 

 of the vote of thanks for the kind way in which they had spoken, and 

 to the Fellows present for the way in which it had been received. He 

 desired also to thank them for the constant support which he had 

 received during the year of his Presidency, and which he felt sure would 

 be further extended to him during the year on which they had entered. 



