XVI PEOCEEDtirGS OF THE 



purely voluntary subscription, to tlie amount of very nearly £1100, 

 attests the sincere interest which the Fellows at large take in the 

 well-being of the Society, and their appreciation of our present 

 change. I have to add to this notice of our new arrangements, 

 that as the whole of the libraries of the three Societies located 

 here are now accessible to the members of each, the Eoyal Society 

 have spontaneously caused their fine collection of books in natural 

 history to be placed, for the greater convenience of naturalists, in 

 that part of their library which is contiguous to our own. 



You have been called upon during this Session to confirm an 

 alteration in the bye-laws, the effect of which wdll be to enable 

 this Society to hold its ordinary meetings on the same night as 

 the Eoyal Society. The Chemical Society has adopted a similar 

 arrangement. When this plan was '^ first proposed, I felt very 

 strongly the obvious objection, that when any paper interesting to 

 the naturalist should be read at the Eoyal Society on the evening 

 of our meeting, it would be impossible for any one of our body to 

 be present without deserting his own party, and possibly losing 

 some interesting communication here. On my pressing this diffi- 

 culty on Lord Wrottesley, with whom, as President, the arrange- 

 ment of the reading of the papers at the Eoyal Society rests, he 

 assured me in the kindest manner, that, as far as practicable, the 

 reading of such papers should take place on those evenings on 

 which the Linnean Society do not meet. The new arrangement, 

 which will not take place until the next Session, will enable the 

 Fellows of the three societies and their visitors to assemble, after 

 the business is over, at tea ; and thus a pleasant conversazione may 

 be anticipated on every evening of these simultaneous meetings. 



A second year has now elapsed since I announced the resolution 

 of the Council to issue the " Journal of our Proceedings." To a 

 great extent this plan appears to have succeeded well ; and 

 although the sale of the separate parts out of the Society has not 

 been considerable, yet the value of its contents, the regularity of 

 its appearance, and the fact of its being sent to the Fellows with- 

 out any trouble or expense on their part, has caused universal 

 satisfaction. It is particularly gratifying to find, that notwith- 

 standing the considerable expense of the publication, our increased 

 prosperity has enabled us to meet it ; and I doubt not that this 

 prosperity is in a measure due to the obvious value and attraction 

 of the publication itself. There is one drawback, however, on the 

 advantages of the Journal, to which I allude with great regret, 

 as it indicates in its cause a still more important defect ; — I refer 



