EEPORT OF THE COUNCIL 547 



not be missed, for the combined collection will certainly be the 

 best of its kind in the country ; but a suitable cabinet to 

 contain it will cost ;£6o or ^^o. How this is to be provided 

 is a question that the Council have at present under con- 

 sideration ; it is mentioned here in the hope that some of the 

 members may volunteer help towards raising the sum needed. 



As the financial statement shows, the year was begun with 

 a considerable deficit. This was met, however, by special 

 donations privately made for that object by some of the 

 members ; an act of generosity for which the best thanks of 

 the Council and of the Society are due. Unfortunately the 

 end of the year once more brings a deficit. About half of 

 this is due to somewhat heavy items of expenditure incurred 

 unexpectedly ; the remainder represents the amount by which 

 the cost of the Society's ordinary work has exceeded its 

 income. 



Against these regrettable features of the Society's position 

 is to be set a circumstance which will tend to place its finances 

 on a better footing. By the will of the late Mr. George E. 

 Crawhall the Natural History Society receives a legacy of 

 ;^6,ooo, to be invested for the benefit of the funds. This 

 generous bequest is most opportune at the present time, and 

 will obviously do much to relieve the many-sided strain upon 

 the finances. 



Your Council feel it important nevertheless to emphasise 

 the fact that the Society will still, as much as ever, need 

 all the support that can be obtained for it. It must be 

 remembered that the full development and adequate upkeep 

 of such a large museum, together with the active prosecu- 

 tion of the other lines of work undertaken by the Society, 

 would cost a considerably larger sum annually than has 

 ever yet been available. That this would be the case 

 was fully realised by the founders of the present museum 

 twenty-five years ago, and in their reports they strongly 

 advocated the formation of a maintenance fund to ensure an 

 income sufficient for the heavy responsibilities the Society had 

 undertaken. So far but little has come of this project, though 



