xivi. THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEEXtNG. 



The Hon. Editor's Report.— The Rev. W. Miles Barnes 

 read his report as Hon. Editor of the Club's "Proceedings": — 



No doutt all the members present possess the new volume ; their subscriptions 

 would be in aiTear if they did not, and, if they have the new volume, they must 

 have discovered that there is some very excellent reading in it. Perhaps the most 

 remarkable of the papers in the book is that on Creechbarrow by a past President 

 of the Geological Society, now one of our Vice-Presidents— Mr. "W. Hudleston. 

 Of this address, our late President, after hearing it, said it would be one of the 

 most important and valuable papers ever contributed to the society's volumes ; 

 and you have, no doubt, read the excellent memoir of our late revered President 

 by the Hon. Morton Stuart-Gray. It is a touching tribute to his memory. 

 "Where all are so good it seems in^^dious to single out individual papers. 



I must express my own regret that Mr. Eaton, a past President of the Royal 

 Meteorological Society, will not be able to continue to direct the rainfall 

 observations throughout the county, for which the society has been so greatly 

 indebted to him for so many years past ; his labours in past years have not been 

 slight. There are few men who can, like Mr. Eaton, read down the columns of a 

 ramf all return and detect the errors in it ; and even our careful observers do make 

 mistakes sometimes, though not, perhaps, such serious mistakes as an observer I 

 heard of the other day, who inadvertently (in a fit of absent-mindedness, let us 

 hope), entered in his rainfall foim the number of persons present at the last parish 

 meeting, and so increased in a very illegitimate manner the apparent rainfall for 

 the month. It will be a satisfaction to all to know that Mr. Stilwell has consented 

 to undertake this important work in Mr. Eaton's place, and that Mr. Eaton will 

 continue to give his assistance. 



I must not omit in my remarks on the book to say a word about the printing 

 and the illustrations. I think you will agree with me that the printing of the 

 volume shows the highest class of workmanship. The printers (the Dorset 

 County Chronicle Office) certainly do their work well, and they are very pains- 

 taking and obliging. I do not know a society which, in the matter of printing, 

 can show a better book. It is not in that direction we must look for improve- 

 ment, but in the illustration of the book some advance might certainly be made. 

 The members must not be too critical about diagrams ; if the diagrams make 

 clear the points the writer wishes to demonstrate, they serve then- purpose. When 

 a professor in the course of a lecture makes use of a blackboard and chalk, we do 

 not criticise his work if it should be a little inartistic ; it is not intended to be 

 artistic, and our diagrams are Uke the blackboard drawings of the lecturer. But, 

 beyond the diagrams, there is some room for improvement, and improvement is 

 simply a question of money. A wider support of the Plate Fund would mean a 

 larger number and a superior class of engravings, and in succeeding volumes a 

 larger number of illustrations will be required if the work about which I am now 

 going to speak is to be properly illustrated. 



When you first appointed me to this post there were two archccological works 

 which I thought your society, with the approval of the Publication Committee, 



