634 RECORDS. 



The Fifth Annual Reception, held in April last, was in some 

 ways the most successful in the history of the Academy, and was 

 certainly more scientific and pleasing. A very large number of 

 guests attended during the two evenings and one afternoon of 

 the reception, and seemed extremely interested in the results 

 there exhibited. A number of changes in certain important 

 particulars have been made during the last year. The by-laws 

 have been very completely revised and simplified, and made 

 workable, particularly in such a way as to give the individual 

 sections and sectional officers more importance in the program, 

 and in reducing the number of business meetings at which the 

 Academy must be organized by the president and secretary to 

 one a month. 



The public lectures have been established on a better footing 

 than heretofore, and have been announced as to date a year 

 in advance, and assigned to the various sections, so that each of 

 the different departments of science may be popularly represented. 

 During the summer the program of the meetings of the year, 

 containing also certain information for ready reference, was issued. 

 This program has been found veiy helpful and will probably be 

 continued. 



The pubHcations of the Academy have been greatly improved 

 as to quality, appearance and dignity, by the change incorporated 

 in January last, when the Transactions were abolished. The 

 thanks of the Academy are certainly due to our enthusiastic and 

 veiy careful Editor, Mr. van Ingen, for the great amount of work 

 and care that he has put upon the publications. It is through 

 the publications only that we are known abroad in the world, 

 and it is very necessary that we should thus appear in the most 

 favorable manner possible. 



The Academy is in great need of more money for publication, 

 and our efforts should be devoted as fully as possible to the 

 securing of contributions for such work. We are continually 

 obliged to decline valuable scientific papers by our members be- 

 cause of lack of funds for printing. This is a condition of affairs 

 which should not be allowed to continue long. It is a great 

 pleasure to the Academy to feel that certain of the scientific 



