Vlll 
Appendix No. 1. 
matter for regret that the Club was left to bear nearly the whole expense 
of the public opposition to the High Beach Kailway: a charge which 
largely added to our expenditure during the past year. The only sub¬ 
scription received towards defraying the cost of a work which was really 
undertaken in the interests of the public generally was £3 3s.—generously 
given by Mr. D. J. Morgan, one of the Verderers of the Forest. 
In conclusion, the Council feels very hopeful of the future success of 
the Club; but it must always be remembered that the prosperity and 
usefulness of a Society of this kind is very much in the hands of the 
members themselves. It is in their power to place the monetary affairs 
of the Club on a higher level, and so enable the Council to publish more 
fully and frequently. Almost every member can add to the interest of 
the meetings by sending specimens for exhibition; reporting the occurrence 
of rare birds, animals, and plants ; the exposure of interesting geological 
sections by railway and sewerage operations, &c.; by sending short notes 
on matters of local or scientific interest; and by aiding the officers 
in planning and carrying out field meetings. The Club should be looked 
upon as the “ Scientific Registry Office ” for the county. The remarks 
made by Mr. Crisp, the Hon. Secretary to the Royal Microscopical Society, 
at a meeting some years back, are so pertinent, that they may be quoted 
as a motto for the guidance of our friends during the coming session. 
Mr. Crisp said:—“I wish to point out that the prosperity of a Society 
cannot be allowed to depend on the energy or enthusiasm of any one man 
or set of men. Unless all co-operate, it is inevitable that the Society will 
in time languish, and I would therefore make an earnest appeal to all not 
to let any year go by without being able to say that they have contributed 
something to the advancement of the interests of the Society. I venture 
to think that, in regard to subscriptions to scientific societies, there is too 
great a tendency to consider the payment of the subscription as the whole 
duty to be performed, and that it then only remains to watch and see 
that someone else returns value for the money. It is obvious, however, 
when once the matter is stated, that this is a wrong notion, and that the 
association of persons in a scientific society ought to depend upon a very 
different tie to that of a pecuniary one merely, the subscription being 
really only the minimum contribution which it is necessary to insist that 
all the members should make.” 
[The Council has again much pleasure in thanking those members who 
have kindly furnished the means for serving tea and light refreshments 
at the Conversazioni held after each ordinary meeting. The contributions 
amounted to £4 Os. 5d. (including a balance of £1 Is. 5d. from 1882), and 
the expenses of tea, attendance, &c., at eight meetings to £2 14s. 2d., 
leaving a balance of £1 6s. 3d. to be carried forward.] 
