of a work which the Society will preserve with the esteem due, 

 not less to its intrinsic interest than to the merit of the Donor, 

 the edition of White's Natural History of Selborne, enriched 

 by him with a fund of new and vahiable information. The 

 Council have noticed this book merely in connexion with the 

 melancholy circumstances under which it came into the So- 

 ciety's possession, and in explanation of their having delayed 

 the expression of their reverence for the memory of their late 

 Secretary till the condition of the Library came to be reported 

 on. 



But they are well aware that in the present state of the Fi- 

 nances, of the Gardens, of the Museum, and of the Publica- 

 tions of the Society, equally valuable memorials exist to testify 

 the zeal, the diligence, the industrious and ever-watchful care 

 bestowed by Mr, Bennett upon whatever related to the pro- 

 sperity or credit of the Society. 



The various negotiations and the often difficult arrange- 

 ments which have put the Society in possession of some of the 

 rarest, most beautiful, and most interesting living animals to be 

 found in any menagerie in Europe, were by Mr. Bennett con- 

 ducted and brought to a successful issue ; nor did his industry 

 relax when dealing with the unobtrusive and less inviting mat- 

 ters which came under his cognizance. He directed his ac- 

 curate attention to the specification of every contract and to 

 the particulars of every work required in the Gardens and 

 Museum. 



The Museum, that centre of the Society's scientific useful- 

 ness, was the object of his anxious care. He left no means 

 unemployed to maintain this most important department on 

 the scale contemplated by its Founders, Sir Stamford Raffles 

 and Mr. Vigors. 



That however which has chiefly raised the Society to the 

 reputation it now holds among the scientific bodies of this 

 country and the continent, the state of its published papers, is 

 greatly due to the unwearied diligence and to the compre- 

 hensive acquirements of Mr. Bennett. With respect to the 



