96 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Szss. Lxxv. 
ment of this was received in July last, and that was duly 
communicated to you, his Majesty having been graciously 
pleased to receive and to thank the Society for their expres- 
sion of sympathy and loyalty. It will, 1 am sure, be your 
wish that the Council should take such steps as may be 
necessary to endeavour to secure the patronage of his 
Majesty King George in succession to that of his revered 
father. 
Turning, then, to the position of the Society as regards 
its membership, we have during the past year added to our 
numbers 4 Resident Fellows, 1 Non-Resident Fellow, and 
1 Lady Member, making a total of 6 added to our number. 
But, on the other hand, death has removed 2 Foreign 
Fellows, 3 Resident Fellows, 1 Non-Resident Fellow, and 
1 Associate—a total of 7, while 4 Resident Fellows of the 
Society have resigned their membership. This involves a 
net loss of 5 in our numbers. I had fain hoped that I 
would not have had to report to you a reduction of member- 
ship, but there it is; and it is for us members of the Society 
to do what we can in the coming session to bring within 
our membership some of the many who, in these times, are 
interested in botanical science, either from a popular or a 
scientific standpoint. As a Society we have, during the 
past session, made certain changes in our laws which will 
enable us to bring into the Society a class of Ordinary 
Members—ladies or gentlemen—-who, though not desiring 
to become Fellows of the Society, may obtain the advan- 
tages of membership on reasonable terms, and many of 
whom, we hope, may later on become Fellows of the Society, 
and so recruit our ranks in that respect. I am glad to 
think we are already making a commencement in the 
election of this class of member. 
Although the coming number of the « Transactions ” of the 
Society will not be a bulky volume, I thnk we may 
consider that it will record and contain a considerable 
amount of interesting botanical information, which will 
make it a useful work of reference. I might mention 
particularly the communications from Mr. Arthur Bennett 
on the genus Carex in Great Britain, and the notes on rare 
Mosses by Mr Evans, and by H. N. Dixon. But besides 
this there has been published, since we last met, a very 
