JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



APRIL 1882, 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 



IV. — The President's Address. By Prof. P. Martin Duncan, 

 M.B. Lond., F.E.S., &c. 



(^Annual Ileeting, 8th February, 1882.) 



My first and saddest duty ia addressing you this evening, is to re- 

 cord the names of those who have passed away from among us 

 during 1881. These are :— C. J. H. Allen, H. H. Bigg, Sir A. 

 Brady, E. C. Griffith, T. E. W. Knight, W. Moginie, E. B. 

 Pitchford, F. Symonds, and J. Tennant. 



Of some of these we have not received any obituary notices ; 

 those which have been sent to us will be printed in our 'Pro- 

 ceedings.' 



While we regret the loss of so many of our Fellows, it is satis- 

 factory to turn to the list of elections into the Society, and to find 

 that, as stated in the Council's Eeport, we now have more Ordinary 

 Fellows than at any previous period. In 1867 the numbers 

 reached 452, but soon after that date, each year showed a falling ofi", 

 imtil in 1878 there were less than 400 Fellows. In the three 

 subsequent years there has been a large increase (after deducting 

 all deaths and retirements), so that the present number is in excess 

 of 500. Whether that total shall be again reduced, depends very 

 much upon the influence which the Fellows may exert upon their 

 friends and others, to induce them to join our ranks. I need 

 hardly say that every addition enables us to increase our usefulness. 



The Eeport of the Council contains an expression of passing 

 regret that the Society is not furnished with the results of more 

 original work on the part of its Fellows, It is, I know, often 

 assumed that we have been worse ofi" in this respect in later years 

 than formerly, but if you will turn to the presidential addresses 

 for 1855 and 1856 * (those of Dr. Carpenter) you will find that 

 he gives expression to the same complaint, and in very strong 



* Trans. Micr. Soc. Loud., iii. (1855) pp. 39-40 ; iv. (185G) pp. 17-21, 

 Ser. 2.— Vol. II, L 



