260 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



arranged for the Club Cabinet to be available to borrowers to a 

 limited extent. A new manuscript catalogue had been prepared, 

 but owing to the expense of production the committee did not 

 feel justified in putting it into the printer's hands at present. 

 The committee greatly regretted that it had been necessary to 

 reduce the issue of the Journal to one number a year. The 

 trouble to the Treasurer and expense to the Club caused by the 

 number of overdue subscriptions was also a matter of some 

 concern to the committee, and they trusted that, having men- 

 tioned it, those responsible would apply the obvious remedy. 

 The new Hon. Secretary was very heartily welcomed, and the 

 committee hoped that the Club's property might soon be gathered 

 under one roof, with the prospect of increased utility in the 

 future. The Treasurer (Mr. F. J. Perks) then read his balance 

 sheet, which showed that the financial position of the Club was 

 satisfactory. Mr. Perks drew the attention of the members to 

 an entry in the balance sheet which formed a welcome innova- 

 tion — viz. a gift of £5 from Sir B. H. Jones. The sum of £10 

 from contributors for expenses of the Journal had also been 

 received. The report and balance-sheet were adopted, and 

 Mr. Wilson drew attention to the fact that this was Mr. Perks's 

 fourteenth year of office. The members expressed their appre- 

 ciation of Mr. Perks's long and valuable services to the Club. 



The President then asked Mr. D. J. Scourfield to take the chair 

 while he delivered his annual address. Dr. Rendle took as his 

 subject the part played by certain microscopic plants in the 

 nutrition of the higher plants. Plant nutrition falls under two 

 headings— the assimilation of (1) carbon, and (2) nitrogen. In 

 the first case the COg from the air finds its way into the tissues of 

 the leaf, water is absorbed by the roots and by the action of 

 sunlight on the chlorophyll, a carbohydrate is formed from the 

 CO2 and H2O, which is either used at once or stored, generally in a 

 solid form, such as starch. Protoplasm is a much more complex 

 substance than the carbohydrates. It breaks up into complex 

 nitrogenous substances, proteins, and in procuring the nitrogen 

 for building up these proteins, and ultimately the protoplasm, 

 from the carbohydrates, the microscopic organisms play an 

 important part. The ultimate source of nitrogen is the atmo- 

 sphere, but most plants are incapable of availing themselves of 

 this supply. Certain bacteria, and perhaps also certain fungi, 



