LINJfEAX SOCIETY OF LONDON. 21 



The vacant places in our list of Foreigu Members have been 

 filled by the election of Dr. Paul Friedrich August Ascherson, of 

 Berlin ; Dr. Gottlieb liaberlaudt, of Graz ; Prof. Ainbrosius 

 Arnold Willein Hubrecht, of Utrecht ; and JM. Charles Eene 

 Zeiller, of Paris. It is a matter of congratulation to the Society 

 that these distinguished names have been added to our roll. 



The Council have awarded the Linnean Medal this year to that 

 great Cytologist and Morphologist, the professor of Botany at 

 Bonn, Geheimrath Dr. Eduard Strasburger. AVe are honouring 

 ourselves as well as doing homage to the recipient, in conferring 

 this, the highest distinction in our power, upon such an eminent 

 man of science. 



During this Session we have continued the practice recently 

 proposed of arranging occasional discussions on subjects of general 

 biological interest introduced to our notice by one or more of our 

 leading experts. Scientific opinion is divided as to the value of 

 set discussions on debatable matters. It is often said that no one 

 who has worked or thought much on such a subject changes his 

 opinion as a result of the discussion. That may well be true of 

 the protagonists ; and it may also be true, as is frequently urged, 

 that the best discussions are tliose that arise spontaneously from 

 the reading of a paper or the exhibition of a specimen. But for 

 most of us, discussions such as we have had here during this 

 Session are both interesting and valuable. Those who play only 

 minor parts in the action and those who are content to listen to 

 the arguments, must benefit from hearing the subjects set out for 

 examination first from one side and then from the other. I am 

 one of those who consider that both in this and in other Societies 

 the exhibitions and the criticisms and discussions, formal and 

 informal, arranged or spontaneous, are usually the most interesting 

 and instructive parts of the proceedings and are well worth the 

 time devoted to them. 



Some of the most valuable papers — works that we desire to 

 encourage by all means, and wliich when printed are important 

 contributions to science and an ornament to our publications — are 

 quite unsuitable for reading to an audience. In such cases, if the 

 author is unable to explain briefly wiiat his paper is about, I should 

 advocate that he be invited to communicate the work by title only, 

 and let the time so gained be devoted to exhibitions and discussions, 

 as I am convinced that these last do more than the reading of 

 papers to keep our members together and add to the vitality of 

 the meetings. I would remind you especially of the interesting 

 discussions we have had in the past session upon '• Digestion in 

 Plants," opened by Professor Vines, upon " Ecology,"' following 

 upon a paper by Mr. Tansley, and upon " Nomenclature," brought 

 before us by Mr. Stabbing. 



We have this special advantage in our Society for the discussion 

 of subjects of general biological application, that we are a body of 

 Botanists and Zoologists working and consulting together. Thus 



