70 The President's Address. 



Mr. Browning has supplied us with a very beautifully 

 made micro-spectroscope, and fitted it to our large Ross. 



We therefore possess, omitting the ancient instruments, 

 Mr. Peters' instrument for microscopic writing and eight 

 microscopes, including a most complete binocular by T. 

 Ross; a good Andrew Ross, wanting the -i-th objective, 

 which seems to be lost; an old Smith and Beck; a good 

 w^orking instrument by Powell, lately converted into a 

 binocular ; a binocular by Baker ; two binoculars by Swift, 

 purchased this year. 



All these instruments are most useful and serviceable ; and 

 I have reason to believe that good use has been made of 

 them on the Wednesday evening meetings of the Fellows, 

 and in the Library. 



Our various instruments also mark the progressive stage 

 of improvement in the microscojie,- beginning with Martin 

 and Culpepper, to the best of modern makers. 



We therefore possess, at present, as complete a set of in- 

 struments and working tools as it is possible to obtain ; and 

 I hope, as they will be more used and more constantly under 

 observation, that we shall not experience more losses ; and I 

 also hope the Council will always be able to purchase all the 

 latest improvements of the best makers of the respective in- 

 struments. 



You are already aware that the authorities of King's 

 College kindly entertained the application of the Council for 

 a room in the College, and that now we possess, for the first 

 time, accommodation for the proper use of our instruments, 

 admitting frequent access to them by our Fellows. We have 

 had to fit the room up, to furnish it Avith bookcases, &c. 



When we came into possession of this room, it was neces- 

 sary to examine carefully all our j^roperty. This examina- 

 tion proved that some books were missing, some slides 

 broken, and some parts of instruments wanting. These ex- 

 joeriences have taught us that all the property of the Society 

 should be carefully catalogued, and, I think, has also taught 

 us the necessity that once, at least, in every year every book, 

 slide, and parts of instruments, should be compared with 

 their catalogues. 



On the collecting the property of the Society at our room, 

 and seeing its value, your Council resolved to insure the 

 property, and have done so,' the amount of insurance being 

 for £800, a sum, I believe, below its real value. 



I have thus endeavoured to sj)eak of the work of your 

 Council during the past year; and I would ask those 

 FelloAvs who have expressed disappointment at the temjjorary 

 suspension in lending books, to consider the circumstances 



