365 



years. Here again, unfortunately, the Society did not reap that 

 harvest of scientific work which it might reasonably have ex- 

 pected from the hands of so distinguished a scientist. 



D. B. Adamson, elected a Fellow in 1867, was well known to 

 all as being pre-eminently a mechanical genius, and many of the 

 older Fellows will remember his exhibition of various mechanical 

 novelties of his own workmanship. From 1878 he was a constant 

 member of the Council of the Society, and by his punctual and 

 unfailing attendance at the meetings he considerably assisted at 

 the dispatch of tlie business of the Society. Even in the ^vell- 

 trodden paths of mechanics he succeeded in evoking certain new 

 facts which were considered worthy of being recorded in the 

 Transactions of the Society. His chief contributions were — 

 " Improvements in Curre's Di-electric Machine " and " On 

 Measuring the Power of Telescopic Eye-pieces." He also at 

 different times exhibited photographs of the moon, and of the 

 recent solar eclipse. 



Six Fellows have resigned, namely, Hon. A. Campbell, H. P. 

 Gill, S. Knevett, W. J. E. Middleton, C. Unbehaum, and G. 

 Vickery. 



Ten Fellows have had their names removed by the Council 

 from the list of members for non-payment of arrears of subscrip- 

 tions, namely, W. T. Angove, J. E. Brown, F. W. Davis, Thos. 

 Gill, C. H. Harris, Prof. Lamb, E. Laughton, M. P. O'Leary, F. 

 Wheeler, and C. L. Wragge. 



The membership of the Society consists at the present time of 

 10 Hon. Fellows, 88 Fellows, 13 Corresponding Members, and 1 

 Associate. 



The Council is able to report that, owing to the increased 

 shelving accommodation, the books belonging to the Society are 

 now arranged in an easily-accessible position. It would suggest, 

 as a recommendation to the Council for the coming year, that it 

 consider some plan for facilitating the access of the Fellows and 

 Members to the books. As usual, many valuable monographs, 

 and a continuance of the numerous scientific serial publications 

 from all parts of the world, have been received. 



In order to make the library of the Society still more compre- 

 hensive and complete, the Council has j^ut itself in connnunica- 

 tion with a number of American and European scientific Societies, 

 whose publications have been solicited in exchange for those of 

 this Society. The names of the principal ones are as follows : — - 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington ; American Assoc. 

 Advancement of Science, Salem, Massachusetts ; N. Y. Micro- 

 scopical Society, New York ; Society Natural Sciences, Buffalo, 

 Indiana ; The Entomological Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts ; 

 Society Natural History, Cincinatti ; and the Zoological Society, 



