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no doubt, to the fine weather for outdoor work, and to the 
great national festivals. Yet the balance was more than 
made up by the full attendance during the remainder of the 
year, so that the average at the twenty-three Meetings held 
exceeded twenty-seven per Meeting. 
The Field Meetings, which for some years were so 
attractive and useful to the Society in promoting the social 
intercourse of its Members, were somewhat in abeyance this 
year. Only two were held, viz. May 29th Chalfont Road 
(Mr. SoutH), and July 3rd Reigate (Mr. TURNER). The 
Council hopes for better results in this department in the 
future ; and it is suggested that a Special Committee should 
be formed of those interested in Field Meetings to organise 
and arrange these affairs. 
At the September meeting of the Council it was decided 
that in future the ‘‘ Proceedings’”’ should be issued in two 
parts ; Part I immediately after June, to contain the papers 
read during the first half of the year, and Part II after the 
Annual Meeting, to contain the papers read during the 
second half of the year, together with the reports of the 
Meetings, &c., &c. It is hoped that this will be more 
satisfactory both to the authors of the papers themselves 
and to the Members, who are unable for various reasons to 
hear the papers read, and who would, under the old arrange- 
ment, only be able to peruse them long after date. 
Some members of the Council are of opinion that the 
time has arrived when an Exhibition should again be held, 
and confidently look forward to the coming year as that in 
which the Society may once more obtain an accession of 
strength by giving a grand public demonstration of the 
attractiveness and interest in a study of the natural objects, 
animate and inanimate, around us. 
The collections of the Society remain under the able care 
of Mr. WEstT of Greenwich, and at the present time consist 
of a collection of British Lepidoptera, a considerable number 
of Canadian Lepidoptera, a collection of pupa cases and 
preserved larve of British Lepidoptera, the ‘‘ Tugwell” 
Herbarium (a very complete collection of British plants), 
a large number of Coleoptera and of British shells, and a 
