Tlie Royal Agricultural Society of England. 8G3 = 597 
h i in December, 1877, the numbers of the Society were as Xumber of 
f( OWS ' Governors and 
Members. 
81 Life Governors, 
74 Annual Governors, 
2280 Life Members, 
4182 Annual Members, 
17 Honorary jNIembers. 
Total . . "6634 
lie income from Annual Subscriptions for the year is thus Finance, 
ttiretically 4552Z. ; and in the year ending December 31st, 
11 7, it was actually 4413/. I85. In that year, however, the 
L ' Compositions received amounted to 1201/., and the question 
tb efore arises, in what manner are such payments treated? In 
th infancy of a Society the recognised principle is that all 
L; Compositions should be invested either in dividend-paying 
st<ks or in some property of a permanent and remunerative 
ck acter. When, however, a Society acquires stability, and 
ra be regarded as established on a permanent footing, it is 
ge;rally held to be sufficient if the acquired property repre- 
se s a sum equal to that of the Life Compositions of existing 
Mnbers. Thus, if 100 new Members pay Life Compositions 
ax unting to 1000/. in any year, and if during the same year 
IC old Life Members die, it would be safe to treat the sum 
of 000/. as part of the income of the year, for the interests 
en ted are balanced by the interests extinguished. At the end 
of 876, the value of the Society's property was 30,126/., of 
w]:h 25,511/. was invested in Government securities, while 
tb compositions of Life Governors and Life Members on the 
lis it the General Meeting in December amounted to 26,850/. 
Th is as close an approximation to theoretical requirements 
as an fairly be expected in the accounts of a Society whose 
fin ices must fluctuate with the result of its annual Exhi- 
iiilin, and whose expenditure includes large annual grants to 
'le ly the cost of important scientific investigations. 
may be of interest to mention the proportionate cost of the 
^el:al departments of the Society's work to each of the 6634 
iotibers, supposing all to pay an Annual Subscription of 1/. 
rit sum would roughly be apportioned as follows : manage- 
met, including rent, taxes, &c., printing, postage, &c., and 
sal ies would absorb 6s. 6(/. ; ' Journal,' including postage, but 
'let cting sales, 4s. 6rf. ; Chemical, Botanical, Veterinary, Edu- 
'■at n and other grants, 5s. ; thus leaving a margin of 4s. in 
tbf£, or 20 per cent, towards the cost of the annual Exhi- 
bit n. 
''L. XIV. — S. S. 3 M 
