peculiar period^ that the Council feel authorized in looking 

 forwai'd to a surplus which will enable them to make fur- 

 ther additions to the Reserve Fund before the expiration 

 of the year. 



The Council beg here to record their thanks to the Com- 

 mittees of Audit and Finance, for the valuable services 

 which they have rendered to the Society in the several de- 

 partments of business which have been referred to them. 



II. PUBLICATIONS. 



The Proceedings for the year 1850 contain many valu- 

 able papers, which fully maintain the character of the pre- 

 vious volumes : and the number of interesting species here 

 described for the first time have occupied 45 plates in their 

 illustration. 



The distribution of these is as follows : — 



Plates. 

 Mammalia ...... 13 



Aves 17 



Pisces S 



Reptilia I 



Annulosa 6 



Mollusca 5 



The First Part of the Fourth Volume of the Transac- 

 tions has been published. The Second Part is in the 

 Pi'ess, and will contain Papers by Professor Owen on the 

 Anatomy of the Rhinoceros ; by Dr. Mantell and Mr. 

 Gould on the discovery of a living species of Notornis in 

 New Zealand; and a continuation of Professor Owen^s 

 previous jDapers on the extinct wingless birds of that 

 country. 



Monthly Report. 



In compliance with the wishes of several Fellows of the 

 Society, and in the belief that such intelligence may be 

 usefully communicated at less distant intervals than the An- 

 niversary Meetings, the Council have directed the Secre- 

 tary to issue every month during the ensuing summer a 

 short report upon the additions to the Collection and other 



