The Publications of the Royal Society. 165 



larger quarto was introduced, and has been continued down to 

 the present time. From 1887 the 4 Transactions' have been divided 

 into two series : Series A, containing Papers of a Mathematical 

 or Physical character; and Series B, containing Papers of a 

 Biological character. The papers which they comprise have also 

 since 1875 been published in separate form. The volumes for 1817, 

 1818, 1820-22, are out of print ; with these exceptions all the 

 volumes since 1800 may still be obtained at prices which are 

 advertised each year on the wrapper of the * List of Fellows.' When 

 the * Transactions ' in stock exceed 100, those preceding the last five 

 years may be purchased by Fellows at one-third of the advertised 

 price. 



THE ' PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY.' 



At a meeting of Council on May 10, 1832, it was " Resolved That 

 the printing of the Abstracts of such papers as have been printed in 

 the * Philosophical Transactions ' from the year 1800 inclusive be 

 proceeded in ; and that the Treasurer and Secretaries be requested to 

 superintend the printing of the Abstracts." The first volume of 

 these Abstracts, comprising the years 1800 to 1814, was published 

 the same year, and the Abstracts for the years 1815 to 1830 in the 

 year following. 



Up to this point the series presents merely a collection of abstracts, 

 arranged in the order of the full papers as they had been issued in 

 the ' Philosophical Transactions ; ' but with the third volume a new 

 order was adopted, the Abstracts being arranged under meetings and 

 following the order in which the papers were read, and each meeting 

 being headed by a brief account of the business which preceded the 

 reading of the papers. The "short" title, in fact, becomes from this 

 rime onwards ' Proceedings of the Royal Society,' but the title page 

 .still stands, * Abstracts of the Papers printed in the Philosophical 

 Transactions,' a description which is not strictly accurate since, even 

 so early in the series as the third volume, many Abstracts were pub- 

 lished of papers which never appeared in the ' Philosophical Trans- 

 actions.' 



With the seventh volume (1854-55). a still further change began. 

 Many papers were published in full in this and the subsequent 

 volumes which were not published in the ' Philosopical Transactions ' 

 at all. These papers were for many years only the briefer or less im- 

 portant communications, the more bulky or more valuable papers being 

 reserved for the quarto form. In time even this distinction became 

 less marked, some papers of great importance appearing only in the 

 * Proceedings.' In this connection, it may be noted that the Statute 

 (('hap. Ill, 5), which stands in the edition of 1871 and previous edi- 

 tions, privileging " All who have become Fellows of the Society after 



