Annual Meeting.] 
10 
[May 5, 
After a period of intense activity repose is beneficial and often 
essentia], but this department has exceeded the requirements of 
the law, and nothing has been done in its name daring the winter 
just passed. We hope sincerely that this is a lull and not a 
sign of dissolution. No one department in this Society does more 
for the good of the public or is worthier of support than this. 
A kind and successful effort was made by Mrs. Samuel Wells to 
raise money to have a new course, but the Custodian did not feel 
that he was justified in accepting this offer, since it came too late 
to leave the requisite time to raise the whole amount before begin- 
ning the lessons. 
Repoet of Edwakd Buegess, Seceetaey. 
In the annual report last year, the Secretary took occasion to 
compare the work accomplished in his departments with that done 
in the other years of the same decade, so that the present report may 
be confined to the statistics of the past year, with the remark that 
these show a gratifying increase in activity in more than one 
direction. 
Membership. 
Twenty-six Associate Members have been elected during the 
year, nineteen of whom have already fulfilled the conditions re 
quired of them. Five Associate or Corporate Members have 
resigned, while death has taken four from the list, which now 
numbers four hundred and fifty-one. No Corporate, Corres- 
ponding, or Honorary Member has been elected. 
Meetings. 
The attendance at the usual sixteen general meetings of the 
year has averaged thirty-nine persons ; the largest number at any 
meeting was eighty- one, the smallest, nineteen. These figures 
show a great advance over those of the last report. Eight meet- 
ings of the Section of Entomology have been held, the average 
attendance being eight persons. The meetings of the Section of 
Botany have been given up. In December the Society gave its 
consent to the revival of the old Section of Microscopy, and a 
