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CENTENARY OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



^ The Anniversary Meeting of the Linnean Society this year, 

 being also the Centenary of its existence, was made an occasion for 

 special observances of an interesting kind. The meeting was held 

 in the library, which was beautifully decorated with flowers, and the 

 attendance was exceptionally large. After the financial statement 

 by the Treasurer, Mr. F. Crisp, which showed a total income of 

 £3246 for the past year, beginning with a balance of £321, and 

 leaving one of £302, an abstract of a history of the Linnean col- 

 lections was read by the senior Secretary, Mr. B. Day don Jackson, 



after which the President, Mr. W. Carruthers, delivered his annual 

 address. 



After a reference to the losses sustained by the Society during 

 the past year, prominent among which are the names of De Bary 

 and Asa Gray, Mr. Carruthers addressed himself to the special 

 circumstances under which the members were assembled. He said 

 that on that day they had to survey a century rather than a year. 

 The acquisition by Dr. J. E. Smith of everything which Linnseus 

 possessed relating to natural history or medicine, with his entire 

 library, manuscripts, and correspondence, raised him at once to a 

 position of high eminence among the students of natural history in 

 England. The transference of the collections to England created 

 a second centre for naturalists in London. Sir J. Banks had 



opened his house and given fresh access to his collections and 

 library to scientific inquirers; and he rendered an unselfish and 

 important service to science by exerting his influence to induce 

 Smith to secure a rival and finer collection. The system of 

 Linnaeus had then completely displaced all others. The happy 

 invention and careful definition by Linnaeus of the words he 

 employed, the precision of his descriptive characters, his terminal 

 nomenclature, and, above all, the clear and certain divisions of his 

 sexual system presented such favourable contrasts to the systematic 

 works of earlier authors that he had secured absolute sway over 

 English naturalists. There existed at the same time a small society 

 in London devoted to the study of natural history. It seemed to 

 have been a kind of mutual improvement society which did not 

 publish memoirs. The Natural History Society continued to hold 

 its meetings for several years after the beginning of this century ; 

 and when the meetings could not be kept up and the society waa 

 dissolved the books and other property were handed over to the 

 Linnean Society, including the ivory hammer still used by the 

 President. The new impetus given to natural history by the 

 arrival of the Linnean collections showed the urgent need of a 

 society which did not limit its operations to the mutual benefit of 

 its members ; and this led to the formation of the Linnean Society, 

 whose first year's income was £65 17s. 6d. For the first fifty 

 years the members were satisfied with annual parts of Transactions, 

 two, three, or four years being required to make up a volume. In 

 1855 a quarterly iournal had become necessary. The distinguished 



