bership. With maintenance of the historical tradition of a restricted member- 

 ship, which now took the form of an honorary membership, or fellowship, an 

 ordinary membership was instituted in 1952, after a third and more drastic 

 revision of the statutes and by-laws. This revision granted the same rights to 

 fellows and members, except for eligibility as member of the Board, which was 

 reserved for fellows. 



At the General Assembly held in 1956, in Providence (U.S.A.), the first 

 ordinary members were nominated. Their number was further extended in 

 1957, in St. Andrews (Scotland), and recently in 1960, in Pallanza (Italy), 

 so that at present the number of members (202) already markedly surpasses the 

 number of active and emeritus fellows (94). 



At the last General Assembly, in Pallanza, a motion was deposited, asking 

 for the abolishment of fellowship, so that only one kind of membership should 

 remain. This suggestion, which will be examined by a special committee, will, 

 when accepted, alter rather drastically the historical character of the I. I.E. 

 From its foundation in 1911 onwards the I.I.E. has been an honorary asso- 

 ciation, of which scientists could only become a member by invitation. In this 

 way it kept its membership restricted to persons of outstanding scientific merit, 

 a procedure which has led to the establishment of the highest possible 

 standards. A decision in this important matter must be left to the competence 

 of the next General Assembly. 



Since the establishment of the I.I.E. as the Embryological Section of the 

 I.U.B.S. in 1947, its activity has markedly increased. Besides the international 

 administrative and scientific activities, carried into effect by the Hubrecht 

 Laboratory as its first recognised international centre, the I.I.E. has held a 

 number of General Assemblies combined with international symposia and 

 congresses. The first of these took place in 1949, in Bern (Switzerland), where 

 the symposium enjoyed an audience of 30 embryologists. The second meeting 

 was organised in 1952, in Utrecht (Netherlands). Here the symposium was 

 attended by 25 embryologists. Both these symposia were by invitation 

 only. The third meeting, convened in 1956 in Providence (U.S.A.), bore 

 the character of an international congress, in which 256 embryologists 

 participated. The fourth meeting, held in 1957 in St. Andrews (Scotland) 

 was a business meeting only, and was attended by 16 members. The fifth 

 General Assembly gathered in 1960 in Pallanza (Northern Italy) and enjoyed 

 the attendance of 42 members, while the corresponding symposium brought 

 together 168 embryologists. 



With the rapid increase in the number of its members the I.I.E. will 

 soon be facing the problem of very high numbers of participants at its sym- 

 posia and congresses. As experience has shown, this may interfere with scien- 

 tific discussion, which unquestionably forms the most important aspect of 

 international scientific meetings. This problem already constituted an impor- 

 tant point of discussion at the last General Assembly. 



At the end of this short survey of the eventful history of the I.I.E., one 

 may ask whether the I.I.E. in its present form actually meets the requirements 

 for a world-wide, representative organisation for the advancement of the 

 science of embryology. Although many countries are reasonably well repre- 

 sented among its members, there are no doubt still a number of missing links 

 in this respect. These may partially be filled up at the following General 

 Assemblies. However, the rather high standard applied also to ordinary 



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