498 



Anniversary Meeting, 



[Nov. 30, 



Academies with wHcli the Eoyal Society is more or less in communi- 

 cation, as well as to several other institutions and individuals, to ascer- 

 tain whether they possessed any works suitable for cataloguing which 

 were not in our library (enclosing at the same time a list of the works 

 already indexed), has been largely replied to; and we have thus been 

 enabled to considerably extend our Catalogue. The number of titles 

 which it at present includes exceeds 180,000, entered in manuscript 

 volumes, available for reference in our library. Our communications 

 have been responded to in several instances with offers of assistance, and 

 in general with strong expressions of interest in the progress of the 

 work, and of anticipated advantage from its publication. 



After a full consideration of the different modes in which such a 

 publication might be effected, the Council decided that the manuscript 

 should in the first instance be offered to Her Majesty's Grovernment, 

 to be printed at the public charge, at Her Majesty's Stationery Office 

 or otherwise, as might be deemed expedient ; and that a certain number 

 of copies should be presented to Scientific Institutions at home and 

 abroad, in the name of the British Grovernment and of the E-oyal 

 Society ; the remainder of the impression being offered for sale at the 

 cost of paper and printing only, and the proceeds applied towards the 

 discharge of the expense incurred in the printing, no pecuniary return 

 being looked for on the part of the Society. 



The Council have availed themselves of the good offices of a valued 

 Eellow of the Society, Sir Henry Holland, who had been a member of 

 the Council whilst the Catalogue was in progress, to bring the subject 

 of the publication under the consideration of Her Majesty's Grovern- 

 ment, whose favourable reply has been this morning received. 



Erom the best judgment which the Council can form, there is reason 

 to believe that by the time the Grovernment may be ready to commence 

 the printing, the Catalogue will have been completed with all the titles 

 that can be obtained. The manuscript, as at present prepared, contains 

 the Titles in the order in which they stand in each of the periodical 

 works indexed; but for publication it will be arranged according to 

 authors' names, and be followed by an Alphabetical Index according 

 to subjects. The expense hitherto incurred by the Society in its 

 preparation amounts to about £1400 ; and possibly £300 or £400 more 

 wiU be required in the preparation of the Index of Subjects, and in the 

 general revision of the press. 



It is with great satisfaction that we see the value and importance of 

 the Philosophical Transactions recognized increasingly from year to 

 year both at home and abroad. Besides the contributions from our 

 own members and countrymen in the past year, to some of which I 

 may briefly advert in the sequel, we have received a very valuable 

 paper from Professor Greorge Forchhammer, of Copenhagen, to a brief 



