J 8 PKOCEEDINGS Or THE 



PEESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 



Fellows oe the Linneak Society, — 



Let me thank you most heartily for your kindness in 

 electing me as your President for a second Session. A more 

 extended acquaintance Avith the work of the office has by no 

 means diminished my sense of the difficulties that surround the 

 position. The honour carries with it a considerable weight of 

 responsibility, which, I am thankful to say, is shared to the full 

 by my colleagues the Treasurer and the Secretaries — to all of 

 whom I am much indebted for eifective support and kindly 

 consideration. 



The past Session, I think I may say, has been an interesting 

 but an uneventful one. "We cannot have every year such great 

 advances in the Constitution and Fellowship of the Society as it 

 fell to my lot to record on our last Anniversary. The Supple- 

 mental Charter aud the new Bye-Laws are historic landmarks 

 that do their beneficent work for the Society silently and for the 

 most part unnoticed. Our lady-Fellows, on the other hand, I am 

 glad to say have made their presence felt both as authors and in 

 debate. We have had further accessions of duly qualified scien- 

 tific women during this Session, and we may be sure that every 

 such admission is a strength to the Society. When they bring 

 their work before us we shall appreciate still further the added 

 gain. 



Every biologist, man or woman, engaged in original work ought 

 to belong to the Linnean Society — it is their natural destiny, 

 their scientific home. There must be many outside the fold who 

 would be glad to enter if piloted hj a friendly hand, and whom 

 we should be glad to welcome when satisfied of their qualifications 

 and of their desire to join us in advancing Natural Science. I 

 commend the idea — the further extension of our Fellowship by 

 the introduction of suitable candidates — to the careful personal 

 consideration of each and eveiy Fellow. 



In last year's Address I alluded to the retirement of Mr. Crisp 

 from the office of Treasurer, which he had held with great advan- 

 tage to the Society for over twenty years. AVe ai'e fortunate in 

 having appointed as his successor Mr. Horace W. Monckton, 

 whom we now \A'elcome and congratulate on the first anniversary 

 meeting since his appointment. 



In all 26 new Fellows have joined the Society this Session — 

 after the extraordinary accession of last year we return to normal 

 numbers. On the other side there are the inevitable losses. We 

 have this year to regret the death of 17 Ordinary Fellows and 



