418 



Anniversary Meeting. 



[Dec. 1, 



restrict their purchases, as far as possible, to recognised standard 

 works. 



The change of printers, mentioned last year in the address of my 

 predecessor, has as then hoped effected considerable economy ; and I 

 should not allow the present occasion to pass without expressing the 

 sense of the officers of the zeal and attention shown by Messrs. 

 Harrison to the business of the Society. The change in question 

 occasioned the removal of our stock of " Philosophical Transactions " 

 and " Proceedings " from the warehouses of our late printer, and as 

 it would have been alike unnecessary and expensive to hire other 

 warehouses at our present printers or elsewhere, we have taken the 

 stock into our own custody. This has been the more easily effected, 

 owino" to the transference of the stock of the Catalogue of Scientific 

 Papers to the Stationery Office. The change has been made the 

 occasion of thoroughly re-arranging our stock of " Transactions" and 

 " Proceedings ; " a process which will always be necessary at intervals 

 of some years, in order to keep the stock in a satisfactory condition. 



An extra volume of the " Philosophical Transactions," (vol. 168) 

 has been issued, in which the observations made by the naturalists 

 who accompanied the Transit of Venus Expeditions to Kerguelen's 

 Land and Rodriguez, and descriptions of their collections by persons 

 specially acquainted with the several subjects, are brought together. 

 The volume is divided into four sections, viz., the Botany and Zoology 

 of each of the two islands respectively. 



The Botanical collections from Kerguelen's Land, worked out by 

 Sir J. D. Hooker, Mr. Mitten, the Rev. J. M. Crombie, Dr. Dickie, 

 P. P. Reinsch, and the Rev, M. J. Berkeley, have added largely to our 

 knowledge of the Cryptogams, especially the Algae. In particular the 

 American affinity of -the Kerguelen Flora, previously established by 

 Sir. J. D. Hooker, in his examination of the flowering plants, is proved 

 to be also very strongly manifested in the Cryptogams. 



Of the Zoological collections from Kerguelen's Land, those of the 

 Mollusca, Crustacea, Arachnida, and Insecta, have yielded the 

 greatestnumber of novelties ; the two former offering distinct evidence 

 of the affinity of this Fauna (as of its Flora) with that of South 

 America. The Arachnids and Insects of the southern extremity of 

 America are unfortunately too little known at present to admit of a 

 comparison with the highly interesting new forms discovered by 

 Mr. Eaton, and described in this section. 



In estimating the affinities of the Flora and Fauna of Rodriguez, 

 the authors were under great difficulties owing to our imperfect know- 

 ledge of the plants and animals of the other Mascarene Islands. But 

 almost all their observations point strongly to the conclusion that the 

 present animals and plants are the remains of a once more extensive 

 Flora and Fauna which has been gradually broken up by geological 



