1894] President's Address. 45 



all still deplore. Earlier in the session, Mr. Alfred W. Dollond pre- 

 sented a marble bust by Garland, of his great-uncle, George Dollond, 

 F.R.S., who himself presented a bust of John Dollond, in 1843, by 

 the same sculptor. 



The House and Soiree Committee have discussed the advisability 

 of increasing the accommodation in the tea room, and have presented 

 a report to the Council upon the subject. The Council, while not 

 disagreeing with this report, considered it wiser, in the present state 

 of finances, to defer the matter for a time. 



A third Report of the Water Research Committee has been issued 

 during the present year. It gives the results of further experiments 

 by Professor Marshall Ward on the " Action of Light on Bacillus 

 Anthracis," and on the " Bacteria of the Thames," and the experi- 

 ments of Professor Percy Frankland on the " Behaviour of the 

 Typhoid Bacillus and of the Bacillus Coli Communis in Potable 

 Water," the whole filling 242 octavo pages. 



Unusually large as was the amount of matter published last year, 

 this year the amount is even larger. In the mathematical and 

 physical section of the ' Philosophical Transactions,' seventeen papers 

 have been published, eighteen in the biological section. The two 

 sections together contain, in all, 1992 pages of letterpress, and 

 112 plates; to which must be added eight or ten papers now passing 

 through the press, and probably to be issued before the close of the 

 year. Of the ' Proceedings,' ten numbers have been issued, contain- 

 ing 1026 pages. As a result, the finances of the Society are, I 

 regret to say, in not such a satisfactory condition as could be de- 

 sired. The cost of the publications, which, last year, was far in 

 excess of what it was in previous years, and of what the Society 

 could really afford, has, in the year 1894, amounted to nearly 

 3260, or about 90 more than it was in 1893. For lithography 

 and engraving alone 1516 have been paid, as against 977 last 

 year. There is, moreover, an accumulation of printed matter now 

 almost in readiness to be issued, the cost of which has still to be 

 defrayed. To meet this extraordinary expenditure it has been 

 necessary to sell out enough of the Society's f unded capital to pro- 

 duce 1000, and rigorous retrenchment will be necessary in order 

 to avoid further loss of provision for continued work in future. 

 While the Council feels the importance of all the publications of the 

 Society being as completely illustrated and as fully detailed as the 

 subjects discussed may require, it is evident that some check must be 

 placed on the extent of the publications, and the best manner of effect- 

 ing this end is occupying the careful attention of the Council. 



The establishment of the Faraday-Davy Research Laboratory, in 

 connexion with the Royal Institution, is a splendid benefaction which 

 science has gained during the past year, through the untiring and 



