REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. 309 



With the exception of the April meeting, which was aban- 

 doned through the illness of Mr. Gillanders, this programme 

 was successfully carried out. For most of the meetings there 

 was an audience that comfortably filled the library (the some- 

 what unsuitable room in which the meetings have still to be 

 held), and on the occasion of the children's lectures the room 

 was crowded. The Council desire again to express the warm 

 thanks of the Society to the gentlemen who have given their 

 time and thought to the preparation of the lectures delivered 

 at these meetings. 



Seven addresses or " museum talks " were given during the 

 winter by the curator. These addresses are given on the 

 last Wednesday evening in each winter month, when the 

 Museum is opened for two hours after dark. The 

 attendance has maintained the improvement reported last 

 year, the average again working out to about fifty. The 

 Field Meetings taking place in each summer are separately 

 reported in the Transactions and do not therefore call for much 

 notice here. Your Council have been glad to find some 

 encouraging features in the reports, but they must express 

 regret that the numbers taking part in the field meetings are 

 still sometimes disappointingly small. 



Another important department of the Society's activity 

 is the publication of papers on natural history, and in 

 this direction more than usual has been done during the 

 past year. Two parts of the Transactions have been issued, 

 namely, Vol. XV., part I., of the old series, and Vol. I., 

 part II., of the new series. The first is a continuation 

 of Mr. J. E. Robson's catalogue of local Lepidoptera ; the 

 second is a general number of over 200 pages, and contains 

 several papers of considerable importance. In connexion 

 with its publications, as in so many other lines of work, the 

 Society is unfortunately confronted by financial obstacles. 

 Material has been published recently at a faster rate than 

 usual, and the account for the two parts just issued will 

 be a heavy charge on the finances ; while at the same 

 time there is an unusually large accumulation of manu- 



