1 6 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



Library, as well as manuscripts and correspondence already men- 

 tioned. 



I may take tliis o])portuiiity of mentioning that Fellows can 

 do a real service, in offering to the Society odd volnmes, or, it 

 may be, separate papers. If Fellows whose Libraries contain 

 good series of works or papers on special subjects would, 

 as opportunity occurs, offer any duplicate or odd pamphlet or 

 book to the Library, they would in many cases confer a lasting 

 benefit on our successors. 



During the past year the Council has sanctioned and Dr. 

 Murie has carried out a useful piece of work, namely revision of 

 the stock of publications. 



This proved more arduous than anticipated, as may best be 

 understood in the following quotation from the Librarian's 

 Report presented to the Council: — " Only after beginning did it 

 become apparent that the reputed contents ot the parcels were 

 in hopeless confusion ; and unless the errors were removed from 

 the beginning, there would be no end to the trouble. 3573 parcels 

 had to be carried up and down stairs, or backwards and forwards 

 — all undone and remade up and corded ; of loose sheets alone, 

 1G,G6G had to be separately counted. Each parcel as above had 

 to be separately labelled ; and each label on the average contains 

 at least G to 8 letters and figures. As the stock now stands, 

 every item is capable of inspection at a moment's notice." From 

 the state of the old stock list, it was at first supposed that 

 the Society possessed abundance both of the old and new 

 series of Transactions. On tlie detailed examination it was dis- 

 covered, however, that this was not the case ; for deficiencies here 

 and there destroyed the coiitinuity of parts and volumes. Again, 

 with regard to the Jourjials, both as first issued, and later as 

 divided into Botany and Zoology, only one or two comj^lete sets 

 could be made up. No complete set of the Proceedings was 

 possible. The Council, under these circumstances, decided that 

 such few complete sets of the Transactions as were available 

 should be put aside, and hereafter only disposed of in sets. The 

 odd duplicate parts in the Society's stock alone to be disjjosed of 

 separately. As to Journals, it was recommended that application 

 should be made to Fellows having odd numbers which might 

 supply gaps, and request these to be resold to the Society. 



During the visit of Dr. Ewald Ahrling, of Arboga, Sweden, to 

 this country the summer before last, for the purpose of studying 

 certain manuscripts of Liuntious (a subject he has devoted himself 

 to for a long series of years), advantage was taken ot iiis extensive 

 and critical knowledge thereon, and both the Linuean Manu- 

 scripts and Correspondence were thoroughly inspected. The letters 

 both of Linuicus himself and of his very numerous eminent cor- 

 respondents of all nations and his own pupils are even yet of high 

 interest and literary value. Our founder Sir James E. Smith's 



