UBRARY 

 NEW YORK 



PREFACE. BOTANICAL 

 GARDEN 



The substantial increase during the present year in the finances 

 of the Society, has rendered it possible to increase the quantity 

 of matter in the Journal, and it is hoped it will be found to be 

 improved in quality also. 



In addition to the " Transactions " and " Proceedings " of the 

 Society, the " Bibliography " and " Eecord " now form a large 

 part of each number. The former provides a classified Index, in 

 English, to the contents of upwards of three hundred British and 

 Foreign Scientific Journals and Transactions,* whilst the latter 

 consists of abstracts of or extracts from the more important of the 

 articles noted in the Bibliography. 



The object of this part of the Journal is to meet a wish 

 which has been for many years expressed by the Fellows — not only 

 those resident in the country, to whom the Library is less accessible, 

 but those in London also — that steps should be taken for obviating 

 to some extent the difficulty that has hitherto existed (owing to the 

 great development in modern times of Periodical Scientific Litera- 

 ture) in ascertaining what is being done by Biologists of this and 

 other countries. 



Whilst the Annual Piecords published in this country and 



abroad (all of which are to be found in the Library) are invaluable 



as books of reference beyond anything to which a Journal issued 



bi-monthly could attain, the feeling has been that a more readable 



account of the results of research would be useful, and, if possible, 



one not so much out of date. As an instance, Mr. Geddes' very 



c<t interestsng researches on Chlorophyll in the Green Planariae may 



^ be referred to. In ordinary course a more or less brief reference 



T-^ to this observation would appear in the Annual Summaries of the 



O second (in a few cases the first) year after its announcement. It 



0} is obviously very desirable that the Fellows should, in such a case, 



^ * In a memorial recently presented to Professor E. Coues, of the United 



H-^ States, signed by Professors Flower and Huxley, Mr. Darwin, and others, the 

 memorialists say: — "The want of indexes to the ever-increasing mass of Zoo- 

 logical literature has long been felt by all workers in eveiy department of 

 science, but the enormous labour of compilation has hitherto deterred many from 

 undertaking a task so appalling." 



