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Anniversary Meeting. 



[Nov. 30, 



Dulau have, at their own expense, issued a very useful alphabetical 

 list of all the papers in the ' Philosophical Transactions,' from the 

 year 1800 to the present time, any of which may now be separately 

 purchased by the public. 



The great and increasing success of our annual soirees has led the 

 House and Soiree Committee to recommend to the Council that in ad- 

 dition to the two conversaziones held in May and June, some informal 

 receptions for the Fellows should also be occasionally held. This 

 suggestion was readily adopted by the Council, and the first of these 

 receptions was held last month. 



The Water Research Committee have continued the labours which 

 they commenced in conjunction with the London County Council 

 four years ago, and although the County Council no longer con- 

 tributes to the expenses, the Committee have been able to carry on 

 the researches, partly by means of an assignment from the Govern- 

 ment Grant, and partly by a grant from the fund established in 1891, 

 by his Excellency Dr. Gunning. A Report, of 200 pages, by Prof. 

 Marshall Ward, forming the Fourth Report to the Committee, was 

 presented to the Council of the Royal Society last March, and has 

 been published in the ' Proceedings.' This Report treats of the 

 biology of Bacillus ramosus (Fraenkel), a schizomycete of the River 

 Thames. 



With respect to the Gunning Fund which I have just now men- 

 tioned, the Committee appointed by the Council to consider and 

 report upon the best terms for carrying out the trust, made the 

 following recommendations, which, with Dr. Gunning's approval, 

 were adopted by the Council : — 



" 1. That the Fund should not be applied in the form of a 

 prize, medal, or reward, but should be devoted to the further- 

 ance of knowledge in some special direction. 



" 2. That, by preference, the interest accruing from the Fund 

 during every three years be applied for the promotion of 

 Physical Science and of Biology alternately. 



" 3. That aid should, by preference, thus be given in Physical 

 Science and Biology respectively, either to investigations or 

 operations which require to be repeated from time to time, 

 or to the development of some specified continued line of 

 research." 



The Council, while adhering to the policy of retrenchment touched 

 upon in my last address, have had to recognise the fact that the 

 Society was, at that time, already committed to a large amount of 

 publication, a great bulk of printed matter being almost ready for 

 issue. This accumulation has been rapidly worked off during the 

 past session, with the result that the Council, notwithstanding that 



