Microscopical Society. 3097 



Proceedings of the Microscopical Society of London. 



Anniversary Meeting, February 12, 1851. — Dr. Arthur Farre, in the chair. 

 The Assistant Secretary read the following- Report of the Council : — 



" According- to annual custom, the Council have to make the following- Report on 

 the state and progress of the Society during the past year. The number of Members 

 at the last Anniversary was, Ordinary Members, 141 ; Associates and Honorary, 5 ; 

 giving a total of 146. Since that time there have been elected 20, making a total of 

 166. This number must, however, be reduced by 3, — 2 deceased and 1 resigned, 

 making a final total of 163; being an increase of 17 upon the number at the last 

 Anniversary. The rooms have been opened on Wednesdays during the session, under 

 the usual regulations. The Cabinet of Objects and the Library have been increased 

 by various donations. There are also in the possession of the Society various Draw- 

 ings and Diagrams, relating chiefly to papers read at the meetings of the Society ; 

 together with copies of the several parts of the ' Transactions.' The Council have 

 also to state, that the arrangements made for facilitating the mutual exchange of Ob- 

 jects among the Members, have been found extremely beneficial, not only to those 

 making such exchanges, but also to the Society itself. They have also to express 

 their regret, that the privilege enjoyed by the Members of making use of the Society's 

 Instruments, &c, on the Wednesday, has not been so fully appreciated by them during 

 the past year as the Council could have desired." 



The Assistant Secretary read the following Report of the Auditors : — 



" We have examined the Treasurer's Account for the past year with the vouchers, 

 and find the balance in hand to be £85 6s. I0d., the whole of which is at the 

 bankers'." 



The President then addressed the meeting, giving a retrospect of the past year, 

 which included those abstracts of papers which have already appeared in the ' Zoo- 

 logist,' and congratulating the Society on its present state and future prospects. 



The ballot was then taken for the election of Officers for the ensuing year, when 

 Dr. Arthur Farre was elected President ; N. B. Ward, Esq., Treasurer ; John Quekett, 

 Esq., Secretary ; Mr. John Williams, Assistant Secretary ; and Messrs. Gosse, Hand- 

 ford, Lankester and Woodward, new members of Council. 



March 19, 1851. — Dr. Arthur Farre, President, in the chair. 



A paper by George Shadbolt, Esq., entitled ' Observations upon Oblique Illumi- 

 nation, with a description of the author's Sphaero-annular Condenser,' was read. 



After some preliminary remarks, Mr. Shadbolt stated that the subject of oblique 

 illumination might be considered as comprehended under two distinct heads, viz., il- 

 lumination by oblique light on one side only, and illumination by opposing rays, so 

 as to obviate any shadow. The former mode has been long employed by micro- 

 scopists, but the latter has been suggested and carried out only recently, by Mr. 

 Wenham, in his parabolic condenser. The author considered that by far the most 

 advantageous mode of applying the first of these methods, was by means of the 

 cleverly constructed prism of M. Nachet, the effects of which are far superior to the 

 old method of turning the mirror on one side, and the instrument also possesses some 

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