providing a regular supply of papers, to urge upon the 

 Members at large the absolute necessity of their taking 

 a more active part in the proceedings of the Society. 

 The non-attendance of Members at the private business 

 is at times a source of inconvenience ; and at a crisis 

 when the interests of the Institution require a great 

 application of time and trouble by the Council, they have 

 a right to look for every assistance from the body at 

 large in the provision of papers. 



The Papers read at the private meetings have been 

 very few. Tlie Council are willing to attribute the 

 failure on this point in part to the great expenditure of 

 time on elaborate negociations, which at the early part of 

 the expiring year engrossed the attention of the most 

 active Members of the Society, and partly to a misappre- 

 hension of the object of those papers, which were intended 

 to embrace all communications, which from their short- 

 ness or other circumstances are not adapted to the more 

 formal exposition which has become usual in the public 

 proceedings of the Society. The following Papers have 

 been read at the Private Meetings : — 



PRIVATE MEETINGS. 

 Ist. " On Alcyonella Stagnorura, a fresh- water Zoophite inhabiting 

 ponds near Leeds" — ^by Mr. T. P. Teale — (read Nov. 13th, 

 1835.) 



2nd. " On the Detection of Arsenic" — ^by Mr, West, Seeretaiy — 

 (read Dec. lith, 1835.) 



3rd. " A Rejoinder to a former Paper on Music" — ^by Mr. Wilkinson. 



K, in looking back at the early reports of the Society, 

 we find that the anticipations of increasing prosperity 

 were then more flattering than have since been realised. 



