132 
REPORT. 
defended and enclosures prevented. The regulation of commons is now 
mainly in the hands of the London County Council, as far as Metro- 
politan Commons within the County of London are concerned, and those 
outside London and in the provinces are now to be controlled, subject to 
certain conditions, by Urban and District Councils. For further par- 
ticulars members are referred to the able articles on the subject by Mr. 
Archibald Clarke in Nature Notes. 
And in conclusion the Council wishes to reiterate the appeals made 
by the Editor of the Magazine to be moderate in the toll they take of the 
plants with which they meet in their rambles. 
The Financial Statement for 1895 is herewith presented to the 
Society. It appears at the end of this Report. 
WORK OF THE BRANCHES. 
The Council has much pleasure in embodying in its Annual Report 
the following accounts of the meetings and work of branches. The 
Council wishes again to thank the honorary secretaries of all the 
branches for their labours on behalf of the Society, and such branches as 
are not mentioned here are omitted only because their work has not been 
specially brought to the notice of the Council, either by means of a 
report or through the Magazine. 
Abinger and Shere. — A Committee meeting of this branch was held 
at West Flackhurst, Abinger, in January. The Secretary read a letter 
from Mr. A. P. Wire, kindly offering to lecture here, and giving a choice of 
topics. The Committee resolved gratefully to accept Mr. Wire’s proposal, 
and selected a lecture on “ Sagacity in Animals ” as the most suitable 
to a rural audience. The Secretary was instructed to write to Mr. 
Wire to this effect, and to propose February 12 for the lecture, as on 
that occasion the Rev. C. E. Matthews from Pcaslake could be present, 
and wou d kindly work the magic lantern for Mr. Wire. 
It w^as decided to supply the Band of Mercy paper to such schools as 
started Bands of Mercy within the radius of the Branch, in some propor- 
tion to the number of members who joined. These papers are to be used 
for a reading lesson in school and then distributed, so that each family 
joining the Band may possess one. The .Secretary has found these 
papers exceedingly popular in Abinger, where a Band of Mercy has 
existed several years, and in some instances parents propose to bind 
them “ because the reading is so pretty.” 
The Secretary mentioned to the Committee the complaints that had 
been brought to him by friends living at Holmbury St. Mary’s of the 
number of dead squirrels found in the pasture woods, evidently stoned 
to death. This is a particularly cruel form of sport, as these graceful 
little creatures are found with every bone in their bodies broken. 
The same thing occurs in the woods round Pcaslake, but the Rev. C. E. 
Matthews is taking steps to put a stop to it, which, if successful, will 
be a precedent for others to follow. 
