25 



February 23, 1909. — The President in the chair. Forty-three 

 members and visitors present. 



Mr. Ludlow Griscom reported seeing a Redpoll {Acanthis 

 linaria) in Central Park on February 2, and Red-breasted 

 Mergansers {Mergus serrator) on the large reservoir in Central 

 Park on February 2, 3, and 4. 



The speaker of the evening was Mr. ^. A. Bryan of the 

 Bishop Museum, Honolulu. His subject was ''Fire Fountains 

 — a Visit to Mt. Kilauea." This volcano is situated on the 

 island of Hawaii. After saying something of the geological 

 formation of the mountain, Mr. Bryan gave a realistic account 

 of a visit to the spot, starting from Honolulu and ending in the 

 fierce heat upon the very edge of the volcano pit. Moving 

 pictures represented the visiting party descending from the 

 Volcano House into the crater, and also showed the boiling 

 action of the molten mass in the pit of the volcano. The fiery 

 pit was photographed both by day and at night by its own light. 



March 9, 1909. — Annual Meeting. The President in the 

 chair. Fourteen members and visitors present. 



Mr. Dwight Franklin was elected a resident member of the 

 Society. 



The Treasurer presented his annual report, which showed a 

 balance on hand in the treasury of $1625.32. The President 

 appointed Dr. J. A. Allen and Mr. Roy C. Andrews as a com- 

 mittee to audit the report. 



The Secretary then read his annual report, as follows : 



"Your Secretary believes that in point of attendance and in the general 

 interest of the meetings, the past year has been one of the most successful 

 in the history of the Linnaean Society. Sixteen meetings have been held, 

 none having been omitted, except that the second meeting in April took 

 the form of a public lecture in the large auditorium by Mr. Richard Kearton, 

 of England. At the other meetings there has been a total attendance of 

 685 persons, making an average attendance at each meeting of 46. This 

 is by far the largest figure in the history of the Society. Seven years ago 

 the average attendance was only 16, and the present attendance shows 

 that the Linnaean Society is coming more and more to be known and 

 recognized as a scientific society of prominence in New York City. At 

 one meeting 87 persons were present. 



In the sixteen meetings twenty papers have been presented, all illustrated 

 with either lantern slides, photographs, specimens, or charts. The topics 

 were largely ornithological. 



