AN ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS 



OF THE 



%o\\t\\ london (Bntontologtcal and natural Bistort) 



^orictn. 



Read January 25th, 1900. 



Gentlemen, — Custom has decreed that at the end of his 

 year of office your President shall deliver an address 

 to you, and, however diffident he may feel when he remem- 

 bers the many excellent addresses delivered by his prede- 

 cessors, he would be a bold innovator who would attempt 

 to break through this custom. 



Before referring to the year's work in Natural History, I 

 must mention the loss we have sustained by the death of 

 two of our members. 



B. H. Walters, although comparatively a new member, 

 was well known to most of you. He was a regular attender 

 at our meetings, and was always keenly interested in any 

 subject of -Natural History (other than Entomology) which 

 came before us. He was especially a student of Ornitho- 

 logy. His genial manner made him a pleasant companion 

 in the field, and at our meetings his removal has left a gap. 



Samuel Stevens was one of the original members, and 

 also, I believe, the oldest member of this Society ; of late 

 years, owing to his advanced age, he was seldom present at 

 our meetings, but he maintained a deep interest in Ento- 

 mology to the end of his long life. 



I have little to say concerning the financial position of 

 the Society; our Treasurer's report, and the Balance-sheet, 

 make that sufficiently plain to you. In order that the 

 Society may prove in the future to be of the same use to 

 its members as in the past, it must continue to publish its 

 "Transactions" as fully as heretofore, and as promptly as 

 possible; Unfortunately our rather modest annual subscrip- 

 tion is nearly all required to cover working expenses other 

 than printing transactions ; it is practically all swallowed up 

 in rent, stationery, printing, and other incidental expenses ; 

 therefore we have to depend on donations to a special 



