1 8 PHOCEEDINGS OF THE 



had beeu spared to us. But this hope was dispelled bv the 

 intimation of the death, on March 10, of Juhus Victor Carus, 

 Professor of Zoology in the University of Leipzig. He was 

 elected a Foreign Member in 1885, and was especially well known 

 as the historian of Zoology, as the translator into German of 

 several of Darwin's works, and as one of the few foreign 

 Professors who have been engaged in scientific work in British 

 Universities. 



Within a few weeks the sad intelligence arriAed of the death of 

 yet another of our Foreign Members, M. Francois Crepin, the 

 distinguished Director of the Royal Botanic Garden in Brussels. 

 M. Crepin had attained a deservedly high reputation as a 

 systematic botanist, and was a leading authority on certain groups 

 of plants, notably the genus Rosa. His election as a Foreign 

 Member took place but two years ago ; every botanist here today 

 feels, I am sure, as I do, a profound satisfaction that we did not 

 fail to take advantage of that opportunity of showing our esteem 

 and respect for the man and his work whilst he was yet with us. 



So recently have these two gaps been made in our list of 

 Foreign Members, that it has not yet been possible to take the 

 necessary steps to fill them. I have therefore no election of 

 Foreign Members to announce to j'ou. 



Turning to finance, you have learned that the Treasurer has 

 barely succeeded in making the two ends meet. It is more true 

 even than it was last year, that the income of the Society is 

 not nearly large enough to meet all the demands that might 

 justifiably be made upon it. So abundant is the supply of 

 really good papers that, had we the funds available, the bulk 

 of our annual publications might well be considerably increased. 

 A larger expenditure upon the Library, and a margin for the 

 xip-keep of the Society's apartments, are both urgently needed. 

 It is, I think, a healthy state of affairs in a Society like ours when 

 the demands for really useful expenditure somewhat exceed the 

 available funds : it is a sign of growing activity, and it enforces 

 economv. But when the discrepancy becomes too great, then 

 efficiency suffers. I do not say that we are yet in this pre- 

 dicament, but we must make every effort to avoid it. 



I think that I have now brought before the Fellows all the 

 chief events in the history of the Society for the past year, and 

 have given them some idea of our present state and future 

 prospects. But it is still a considerable time before the Ballot 

 can close and we shall be statutably at liberty to separate. Of 

 what can I profitably discourse to you, so that I may relieve the 

 tedium of waiting ? I can think of nothing better than that 

 I should tell you about a subject at which I have been working 

 for some time past, and upon which I have already made com- 

 munications to the Society. The subject is the digestion of 

 proteids by plants. But I shall not by any means confine myself 

 to plants : it will be absolutely necessary to say something about 



