REPORT 



SECRETARY AND LIBRARIAN, 



FOK THE YEAR 1890. 



First, as Secretary. At the date of my last report, Part II of 

 the Transactions for 1888 had just been placed iu the hands of 

 the printer. This was completed as speedily as possible, and it 

 was then deemed best by the Committee on Pnblication to print 

 next the first part for 1890, leaving the Transactions for 1889 to 

 be brought up afterwards, which was accordingly done, and the 

 first part for 1889 has since been published. The second part for 

 that year is nearly ready for the printer, and will be pushed to 

 completion as early as possible. I regret exceedingly that with 

 the utmost diligence I have been unable to wholly fill the gap 

 existing, for nothing could be a greater relief to me than to feel 

 that this whole matter was cleared up and could be dismissed from 

 my mind until it is time to go to work oh the next one. 



It requii'os no argument to show that to be done to the best 

 advantage the work on the Transactions should be continuous, 

 but thus far it has been impossible to command such time for this 

 work. I wish that I, or any of those who equally with myself 

 would like to have the publications of the Society appear more 

 promptly, could devise some way in which I could devote my 

 whole, or substantially my whole, attention to them until they 

 were completed ; but thus far this has not been effected, but on the 

 contrary the calls on my time in other directions are still on the 

 increase. As an instance, I may mention that when I commenced 

 editorial work on the Transactions, the Kose and Annual Exhi- 

 bitions of the Society occupied only six days, the Spring and 

 Chrysanthemum exhibitions being then merely " Saturday shows ;" 

 but the time devoted to " all day " exhibitions gradually crept up 

 to twelve days, at which it remained until the present season, 



