Jan. 7, 1 875 J 



NA TURE 



197 



others as wel! as by experts in the subjects of the paj-ers. But 

 for all this a committee of the whole Council is not necessary ; 

 and though I should not be disposed to advocate a return to a 

 system once pursued of resolving ihe committee into sub- 

 committees charged with special subjects, I think it possible that 

 some other plan may meet the difficulties of the case and relieve 

 our overburdened Council of much labour. A possible plan for 

 relieving both the Council and the committee, while securing as 

 careful a scrutiny of the papers as we now have, would be a 

 division of the labours of the committee, and an addition of 

 extra members to its number, chosen from among the Fellows, 

 who should continue in office throughout the session. This, or 

 some plan of the kind, would have the advantage of engaging 

 more of the Fellows than at present in the affairs of the Society ; 

 and I feel sure that so responsible a position as that of Extra 

 member of the Committee of Papers would be accepted with 

 pride by those Fellows who are most competent todiicharge the 

 duties. 



It seems convenient to refer here to suggestions that have been 

 made to me as to the expediency of breaking up our transactions 

 or proceedings, or both, into sections devoted to physics and 

 biology respectively, or even subdividuig them still more. This 

 separation has been advocated on the ground that science has 

 become so specialised that no scientific man can grasp all its .sub- 

 divisions, that the mi.xed publications are cumbersome and diffi- 

 cult to consult, and that private libraries are now overburdened 

 with the publications of Societies, of each of which a small part 

 would suffice for all their possessors' wants. There is no ques- 

 tion that this, if now an evil, will soon become intokrable, for 

 our publications increase rapidly in number of contributions and 

 in their bulk. There are, however, so many considerations to 

 be discussed before any system of relief can be adopted, that I 

 confine myself to stating the subject as it has been urged upon 

 me. 



The Society's library now comprehends 36,270 volumes and 

 10,000 tracts, the most considerable collection of scientific works 

 in the possession of any private body ; and in respect of Trans- 

 actions and Proceedings of scientific academies, societies, and 

 institutions, I believe it is unrivalled among public bodies. 



A complete Catalogue of the Scientific Books, MSS., and 

 Letters, which I regret to say is unaccompanied by any histori- 

 cal or other information regarding the library, was printed in 

 1S39. Another catalogue of the miscellaneous literature and 

 letters was printed in 1841 ; and there is also a MSS. cata- 

 logue of maps, charts, engravings, and drawings, which number 

 upwards of 5,000. 



For some years past the Library Committee, indefatigable in 

 steady endeavour, have greatly increased the value and efficiency 

 of our library ; and in 1S73, previous to leaving old Burlington 

 House for our present apartments, it ordered a rearrangement of 

 the whole, and the preparati n of a new catalogue, which is 

 being proceeded with as fast as the current duties of the officers 

 will pcimit. 



In the mean time the Catalogue of Transactions and Journals 

 is printed for working purposes, and will be added to until such 

 time as the general catalogue is readv for press. 



The collection of Oriental MSS. presented by Sir William 

 Jones in 1792, and added to by his widow in 1797, was largely 

 consulted by several of the distinguished foreigners who 

 assembled at the Oriental Congress in London last September. 

 From conversation with some of these gentlemen, I learnt that 

 the collection contains many documents of the greatest value and 

 rarity, together with some that are unique ; and it may be 

 worth the consideration of the Council, whether they would not 

 be more useful if transferred to, or deposited in, the India 

 Office or some other Oriental library, where lliey would be con- 

 sulted to gre<tter advantage than here. At present they occupy 

 part of the room devoted to our archives. 



The two most noteworthy additions to the library during the 

 past year have been the MSS. on logic and maihematics of 

 our late fellow Prof. Boole, presented by his widow ; and Dr. 

 Fayrer's collection of forty-seven original drawings of the poi- 

 sonous snakes of India, which are of interest in connection with 

 his and Dr. Brunton's experiments on snake-poisons, printed in 

 our " Proceedings." 



The apartments devoted to the library afford space for twenty 

 years' addition at the present rate of increase ; they are remark- 

 ably commodious ; and those who assembkd at our Soiree last 

 spring and saw them for the first time ligl.ted up and decorated 

 wiU consider with me that they are not only a noble suite of 



apartments, but that they are in keeping vnth the purposes and 

 the high position of the Society. 



You are aware that the Council resolved that the Catalogue of 

 Scientific Papers should be continued through the decade 1864- 

 1S73. This work is now progressing under direction of the 

 Library Committee, who have had charge of the undertaking 

 from the commencement. The necessary funds are granted by 

 a vote of the Council, and we may hope, in the course of the 

 coming year, that the seventh volume of tliis important work 

 will be ready for publication ; and we confidently trust that the 

 Government will extend its liberality by printing this as it did 

 the former volumes of the series. The total outlay upon the six 

 volumes already published (which comprise papers published 

 between iSoo and 1S63) has been 8,936/. I2,r., of which 3,720/. 

 I5J-. 6(/. (the cost of preparation) was defrayed by the Society, 

 and the rest (the cost of printing, paper, and binding) by the 

 Treasury ; against which must be set the proceeds of sale, repaid 

 to the Treasury in occasional amounts, the last within the pre- 

 sent year, making a total amount of i,oco/. 



The number of copies of the Society's Transactions distributed 

 gratuitously to institutions and individuals not Fellows of the 

 Sociely is now 209, and of the Proceedings 325. 



House Coniniittce. — The great labours of this committee in 

 connection with the removal into the apartments we now occupy 

 had not terminated at the beginning of the past session ; and 

 various matters have still to be attended to. That the arrange- 

 ments the committee has made have given satisfaction to the 

 Fellows at large has been amply acknowledged. We are, indeed, 

 greatly indebted to them for the knowledge, experience, and 

 time, all so freely given in our service, as also to the knowledge 

 of our requirements and the practical views of our Assistant 

 Secretary, upon whom fell the duty of suggesting the best dis- 

 position of the apartments throughout this large and commodious 

 building. Lastly, I would beg your permission to record the 

 services of the eminent architect, Mr. Barry, who has through- 

 out shown the greatest regard to our position and requirements, 

 and but for whose professional ability enlisted in our service we 

 might have found ourselves as ill as we are now well accommo- 

 dated. 



Funds and Bequests. — The Donation Fund. — In 1828 our 

 former President, Dr. Wollaston, invested 2,000/. in the Three 

 per Cents for the creation of a fund, the dividends from which 

 were to be expended liberally "from time to time in promoling 

 experimental researches, or in rewarding those by whom such 

 researches have been made, or in such other manner as shall 

 appear to the President and Council for the time being most 

 conducive to the interests ol the Society in particular, or of 

 science in general." There is no rcstiiction as regards nation- 

 ality : but members of Council are excluded from participation 

 during their term of oftice. 



To this fund many liberal additions were made. Mr. Davies 

 Gilbert gave 1,000/. ; Warbuiton, Hatchett, Guillemard, and 

 Chantrey each contributed 100 guineas. P'rom these gifts, and 

 by accumulations, the fund in 1S49 had increased to 5,293/. 

 With subsequent contributions, and a bequest of 500/. by our 

 eminent FeUow the late Sir Francis Ronalds, the total, as 

 shown by the balance-sheet now in your hands, amounts to 

 5,Si6/. \s. \d. In addition to the balance-sheet already referred 

 to, a detailed statement of grants from the Donation Fund is, 

 in accordance with a resolution of Council, published .with the 

 Report of the Anniversary Meeting. 



Sir Francis Ronalds died in 1873 ; his bequest (reduced by 

 payment of legacy duty to 450/.) was m.ade, as declared in his 

 will, in recognition of the advantages he had derived when 

 Honorary Director of the Obseivatory at Kew, from the sums 

 granted to him out of the fund to aid him in the construction of 

 his photographic apparatus for the registration of terrestrial 

 magnetism, atmospheric electricity, and other meteorological 

 phenomena. 



Of the grants made during the past session, I would especially 

 mention 100/. to Dr. Dohrn in support of the Stazione Zoologica 

 at Naples, in which two British naturalists, Mr. Lankester and 

 Mr. Balfour, have recently made a valuable series of observa- 

 tions on marine animals. 



Among the others were a grant of 25/. to Dr. Carpenter for 

 the purpose of constructing an apparatus to illustrate tfie theory 

 of oceanic circulation in relation to temperature, and 50/. in 

 aid of the Sub-Wealden Exploration. In reference to this 

 last, I should remark that, in recognition of the important 

 scientific results which have been obtained from the Sub-Wealden 



