98 



are aware that at this time last year, owing to the sale of our Exotic 

 Collections, we had in hand a heavy balance of cash. This balance 

 we have contrived to reduce; £100 has been invested in the Funds, 

 and ^£70 has been expended in making additions to our Library. 



Our income during the past year amounts to £181 11.9. 7d.; our 

 expenditure (exclusive of our investments already mentioned) to 

 a£204 4.9. 2d., leaving, at first sight, a balance on the wrong side of 

 the account of about £22 12s. Id. But you are aware that the 

 Council came to a resolution this time last year to furnish the 

 'Transactions' gratis to all the Members and Subscribers, whether 

 residing in the country or in the metropolis, though by so doing it 

 was calculated that we should suffer an immediate loss of about £15 a 

 year; at the same time it was determined to raise the price of the 'Trans- 

 actions' to the public, so that the four quarterly' parts should cost 

 very nearly as much as our annual subscription ; now, having some 

 conscience, we felt that we (tould not double the price of our 

 quarterly parts unless we increased their size, and thus we have been 

 led to incur a larger expense for the 'Transactions' than usual, and 

 these circumstances combined will more than account for increase of 

 expenditure over income. 



And further I may mention that one of our Members has, since 

 I entered this room this evening, handed to our Treasurer a cheque 

 in payment of the amount of the colouring of his plates of the 

 Erycinidai, which will almost swamp this deficiency, so that I may 

 congratulate you on the fact that, in spile of our giving away our 

 'Transactions,' and in spite of our increased printer's bill, both sides 

 of our account balance; and our very excellent Treasurer has at this 

 moment, even after meeting every liability we have incurred, a 

 balance of £39 3.?. 2d. in hand, and a certain amount of arrears of 

 subscription (say £10 10s.) is confidently to be reckoned upon as 

 good. We therefore commence the new year with most cheering 

 prospects ; accounts balancing, cash in hand, library increased, 

 property in the Funds, Members increasing — everything seems 

 couleur de rose, except this small apartment, wherein we are 



" Cabin'd, cribbed, confined." 



During the past year there have appeared four parts of our 

 ' Transactions,' containing papers by Mr. Bates, Mr. Pascoe, 

 Mr. Moore, Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Saunders, Mr. Smith, Mr. Baly, 

 Mr. Westwood and Mr. Walker. 



Mr. Bates has contributed some useful notes on the habits of 



