PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 121 



money on other objects. "When he considered the price of otlier 

 scientific journals, he thought the Society was paying too much for 

 theirs. 



Dr. Lankcster, as "one of the editors of the Journal, said he was 

 exceedingly obliged to Mr. Hodgson for having given him an 

 opportunity of replying to the remarks of the President, which he 

 could not otherwise have done with propriety. He was sorry to 

 find that tlie President had regarded the interests of the Transac- 

 tions and Journal as antagonistic; for the Journal had been started 

 in connexion with the Society, and had always been conducted 

 Avitli a view to carry out the objects the Society had in view. It 

 was true the Journal [and Transactions were not sold so cheaply 

 to the public as the popular journals alluded to by Mr. Hodgson ; 

 but it should [be recollected, that the very fact that the Journal 

 contained the highly scientific papers read before the Society, 

 was one reason of its high price ; for these papers limited the 

 circulation of tl.e Journal to the small number of persons who 

 worked scientifically with the microscope. The papers in the 

 ' Microscopical Journal' were generally original papers, or transla- 

 tions of foreign' papers, with illustrations that had not appeared 

 before, and in point of scientific value, were incomparably more 

 valuable than the papers written for popular instruction in the 

 magazines alluded to. But even admitting this, it was not correct 

 to say that the Journal, which was sold to the public at four shil- 

 lings, cost more to the Society than the journal named, which cost 

 two and sixpence, for the editors supplied the Journal and Trans- 

 actions of the Society at the present moment, according to agreement, 

 at a cost of two shillings and fourpence for each number. The 

 editors did not think this an unfair arrangement for the Society, 

 as it barely covered the cost of the Journal. If, however, the mem- 

 bers of the Society tliought they ought to supply them with the 

 Journal at a loss, it was for the editors to consider whether 

 such an arrangement would be so injurious to the general interests 

 of the Journal as to prevent their being able to comply with 

 such a demand. Individually, he should deeply grieve to see the, 

 Journal and Transactions dissevered, and he thought it was for 

 the Society to consider whether such a step would be politic. They 

 should recollect, that when the Journal was started, the Trans- 

 actions had been published very irregularly, and the Society had 

 on its books only 180 members. Of these, several never paid their 

 subscriptions, so that, as the members were now 317, it might be 

 said that the Society had doubled its numbers under the influence 

 of the Journal. He knew perfectly well that a large number 

 of membei's had joined the Society on account of the regularity of 

 the publication of their Transactions, and the valuable matter con- 

 tained in the Journal. It was quite true, as the President had 

 stated, that the expense of the Journal to the Society had gradually 

 increased, but that had entirely arisen from the increase of 

 members. It would be found, indeed, if they compared the ex- 



