April i^tJi, 1902.] Proceedings. xxxvii 



annual sectional contribution was increased from ;^2. 2s. od. to 

 ;^5. 5s. od., and the amount of £10. los. od., being such con- 

 tribution for two years (1900-1901 and 1901-1902), has been 

 included in the payments of the current session. 



" The regrettable reduction in membership, just alluded to, 

 has been going on for many years, and must be attributed to the 

 increasing specialisation which has been taking place in micro- 

 scopical studies and biological research, each branch of science 

 wishing to form a separate organisation to foster its individual 

 pursuits. 



"Under these unfortunate [:)ut apparently unavoidable cir- 

 cumstances, it would seem desirable to dissolve the Section, at 

 the same time urging its present members and associates to make 

 their communications to the ordinary meetings of the parent 

 Society. A resolution will subsequently be submitted to the 

 Annual Meeting bringing to a close the operations of the Section 

 as a separate organisation, and authorising the Treasurer, after 

 discharging the obligations of the Section, to pay over to the 

 Treasurer of the Society the balance which remains at the credit 

 of the Section at the Williams Deacon's Bank, and in his own 

 hands. 



" The Council has not come to this determination without 

 unfeigned regret, especially as the Section, instituted in Decem- 

 ber, 1858, is but a few years distant from the celebration of its 

 Jubilee, having been in existence nearly 44 years. Many dis- 

 tinguished men have been members or associates, and mostly 

 contributed papers at its meetings. Its career has been honour- 

 able, and its record both good and useful. It is hoped how- 

 ever that, by its dissolution, the biological side of the parent 

 Society will receive a favourable impetus. 



" In conclusion, the Council would wish to place on record 

 the deep sense of the loss the Section sustained early in the 

 present session, by the sudden death ot Mr. Thomas Rogers, at 

 Patterdale, on 30th May, 1901. Most regular in his attendance 

 at both the Council meetings and ordinary meetings, as an 

 associate of over 28 years' standing (having been elected on 



