10 president's address. 



becoming more and more pressing so that we may prepare for 

 any stringent conditions that may arise. 



The year's work of the Society's research-staff may be sum- 

 marised as follows: — - 



Dr. R. Greig-Smith, Macleay Bacteriologist to the Society, has 

 continued his investigation of the problem of soil-fertility. The 

 fifteenth of his series of papers treating of this subject, as well 

 as a short paper on the single cell cultivation of yeast, have been 

 completed and handed in; and will be taken, in their turn, during 

 the coming Session. 



Dr. J. M. Petrie, Linnean Macleay Fellow of the Society in 

 Biochemistry, has extended his observations on poisonous Sola- 

 naceous plants, and on the occurrence of hydrocyanic acid in 

 plants. Two papers dealing with the alkaloids of Native To_ 

 bacco, and of Solandra longijiora^ being Nos. ii. and iii. of the 

 series on the Chemical Investigation of Poisonous Plants of the 

 N.O. Solanace?B, will be found in the Proceedings of last year. 

 Nos. iv. and v. of the same series, which deal with the chemistry 

 of the thi'ee species of Duboisia, together with No. iii. of the 

 series on hydrocyanic acid in plants, have been completed and 

 submitted for publication. These will be taken in their turn 

 during the coming Session. Meanwhile, Dr. Petrie has in view 

 the further elucidation of certain problems relating to cyano- 

 genesis in plants. 



Mr. E. F. Hallmann, Liiniean Macleay Fellow in Zoology, 

 completed his second contribution to a revisional knowledge of 

 Australian Sponges early in the year. This, like its predecessor, 

 was taken in three sections for convenience. Two of these ap- 

 peared in Part 3 of last year's Proceedings; the third will be 

 found in the concluding Part of the Volume. Mr. Hallmann 

 has since been at work upon the Desmospongite collected by 

 the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. 



Mr. R. J. Tillyard, Linnean Macleay Fellow in Zoology, has 

 successfully carried on his studies on Australian Neuroptera, and 

 on the larval respiration, and the wing-venation of Odonata. 

 Nos. ii., iii., and iv. of the series devoted to the Order Neuroptera, 



