ANNIYERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 49 



suits, he was still able to be of great assistance to the wounded 

 during the defence of Rome in 1849, and in consequence was for a 

 time regarded with disfavour by the restored Pontifical authorities. 

 Gradually he was attracted from anatomical to geological studies, and 

 after he had taken a leading part in drawing up a geological map of 

 the Eoman Campagna, was appointed, in 1 862, professor of geology. 

 He was enabled to labour on till within a short time of his death, 

 and was the author of more than ninety papers on various geological 

 subjects, the last, " Contribuzione alia Geologia dei Yulcani Laziali," 

 evidently intended as the beginning of a series, appearing in the 

 ' Atti deir Accademia dei Lincei,' for 1885. 



Passing now from these memories of the past to less painful sub- 

 jects, I am glad to be able to congratulate the Society on the marked 

 improvement in its finances. This, however, is due, not so much to 

 an increase in our income as to the diminished expenditure on our 

 ' Quarterly Journal,' the sum expended on the last volume having been 

 .£776 as against £1106 in the preceding year. One cause of this 

 reduction, no doubt, is that the number of papers read before the 

 Society was less than in the corresponding time of previous years ; 

 but I think that the imperative need of economy has also led 

 Referees and Council alike to impress more strictly upon authors the 

 advantage of terseness, and has compelled them to consider more 

 closely whether a paper had a local or a general interest. I believe 

 that in the future, until our income increases, this question must be 

 more closely regarded than it has been in the past. 



In what I am about to say I must be regarded as speaking on my 

 own responsibility ; but as it is a point which has been forced upon 

 my consideration during my period of office, both as Secretary and 

 as President, I shall venture to touch upon it at parting. At our 

 present rate of income, I am of opinion that about =£800 is the maxi- 

 mum sum which we are justified in devoting in any one year to pub- 

 lishing our Quarterly Journal. It is evident, therefore, that some of 

 the papers read before the Society must be issued in an abridged form, 

 occasionally only as brief abstracts. Selection being thus rendered 

 necessary, — even supposing that authors have done their best to prune 

 away redundances and unimportant disquisitions — this must be made 

 on some definite principle. Papers on geological subjects, it appears 

 to me, can be broadly divided into two classes, those of which the in- 

 terest is mainly local, or those in which it is mainly independent of 

 a locality. Thus, to take an example from our own country, a 

 paper may contain an account of sections which it is highly desirable 

 should be recorded in the transactions of a local society, as adding 

 to the detailed knowledge of a particular formation or district, but 

 which, as telling of no new facts of importance, and suggesting no 

 new inductions, have not sufficient general interest for our 

 Journal. In maintaining such a distinction there is no real hard- 

 ship to authors ; there are now several publishing societies, as well 

 as the ' Geological Magazine,' a function of which is to relieve the 

 pressure on our Journal by providing authors with opportunities 



