38 
decided retrograde movement this year, it has, at least, been equally 
careful that very little of the sin of forwardness shall be laid at its door, 
and that its progress towards the ideal shall be slow, if not altogether 
stately. 
There was one item in last year’s report which was a perfect dis¬ 
grace. Even after a substantial donation from Mr. J. A. Clark, the 
Society was still in debt to its Treasurer to the extent of £9 14s. 6d., 
solely due, we believe, to the non-payment of subscriptions ; and the 
Secretaries spoke so strongly in their report for last year, that they 
believed that the members would make some effort to put this matter 
on a better footing. 
Will it be credited that this balance now stands £12 6s. Id ? The 
reason of this is not that the executive have been plunging the Society 
into any rash or unusual expenditure. Far from it. The reason is 
practically the same as it was last year. Further comment would be 
unnecessary, and futile. The Treasurer will give you details of this 
unsatisfactory financial condition presently. Meanwhile, we will con¬ 
tent ourselves with saying that a circular is being issued by the 
direction of the Council to every member of the Society, asking for 
assistance to clear off this obnoxious balance. This would give us a 
fresh start, and it is satisfactory to know that the Council has decided 
that in future the expenditure must be kept within the income at all 
costs. We only hope this appeal will meet with sufficient response to 
enable us to get rid of this really great evil. 
The Society’s membership now stands at 63, having decreased 
from 76 last year. This is due to the Council’s having resolutely 
struck off several members who persistently declined to pay. On the 
other hand, the average attendance has only decreased to just 
under, instead of just over, 19, the best meeting being on February 
16th, on which, curiously enough, no paper was read. That atten¬ 
dance comprised 26 members and one visitor. Against this we have to 
record that on August 17th only three members attended, and no 
meeting was constituted. (Surely, even at that time of the year, there 
was no excuse for this). Besides this, it is much to be regretted that 
two recent meetings had to be abandoned, owing to our room at the 
London Institution not being available. 
The Library and Cabinet still need great attention. Neither is 
yet quite perfect, nor does the Society seem to mind. How very 
rarely we hear of any donations in either branch ! Even the magazines 
are not presented by members ! 
The following is a list of the papers read before the Society this 
year 
Jan. 5th ... “ Stars, Star Clusters, andNebula3,” 
C. Nicholson, F.E.S. 
Jan. 19th . “ The History of Silk ” ... L. J. Tremayne. 
Feb. 2nd ... “ Notes from Bures ” ... ... W. Bloomfield. 
March 2nd ... “ The Origin of Lepidoptera ” J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. 
March 16th .. “An experiment in breeding Arctia 
caia" ... D. C. Bate. 
April 6th ... “Notes from thelsle of Dogs” ... H. S. Woolley. 
May 4th ... “ The Genus Oporabia ” ... L. B. Front, F.E.S. 
May 10th ... “ Industries and Politics of the Ant,” 
H. A. Sauze. 
