CO885-(25-26) — Page 152

150

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

mmimmin C.O.885/25

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

282

In every case the sum mentioned is the one that was suggested at the Confer- ence, and the only objection that has been raised has come from the Government of Hong Kong, who have promised their contribution provisionally for one year only. The grant from the British North Borneo Company is also for one year, its renewal being dependent on the approval of the Court of Directors.

The total thus promised amounts to £5,900, or nearly half the entire sum asked for. On the current scale the grants from these countries would amount only to £1,895, Rhodesia and Borneo not being contributors.

The entire expenditure on the Conference, including the return passage of one of the West Indian delegates, came only to £152 158. 7d., and it is suggested for the consideration of the Committee that the whole sum might reasonably be debited to the Carnegie Fund.

Finance.--In Appendix I. will be found the usual statement of receipts and expenditure for the past six months. Owing to the decision to place the bonuses to the staff on the same level as those paid to the Civil Service, the amount expended on salaries is £844 higher than for the similar period of last year. The expendi- ture on the library is also higher than usual, this being due partly to the purchase of various books and periodicals not obtainable during the War, and partly to the greatly increased cost of binding. On the other hand, the return from interest on deposits shows an increase of £34.

In Appendix II. is set forth a statement of our cash resources and estimated liabilities for the rest of the current financial year. As the Committee is aware, for some two years past we have been compelled to spend a good deal more than our income owing to the increased cost of maintenance. When this excess expendi- ture was approved it was estimated that by utilizing our accumulated surplus we should just be able to keep things going on the present basis until our current grants terminated in March, 1921. It will be seen that this anticipation has been borne out, and on that date our surplus will have been reduced almost to the point of extinction. Strictly speaking, the balance ought perhaps to be shown as even less than it is; for were we forced to realize our Funding Stock at present prices it would involve a loss of at least £375. But as not more than £5,000 worth of our liabilities will mature before the new grants begin to come in, that realization will not be necessary.

Publication Office.-At our last meeting attention was drawn to the fact that the lease of our present premises at 88, Queen's Gate will terminate next September, and that the owners had refused to renew it. Fortunately, the Entomological Society of London has recently acquired the freehold of 41, Queen's Gate, and we have been offered the use of the second, third, and fourth floors, together with a portion of the basement. In our present quarters we are already getting somewhat cramped, and in the new house, which is a larger one, we should have three additional rooms and about double the floor space, which would allow sufficient margin for future expansion.

At the time of writing, the question as to the rent to be paid for this accommo dation is still under discussion. In order to secure a basis to work upon, the Society and ourselves instructed two firms of agents to make independent estimates as to what would be a fair rental. Our own agent, having worked out his estimate in full detail, suggests £210 as a maximum exclusive of rates, which we shall have to pay. The Society's agent has given an estimate of £300, without showing any details as to how this figure is arrived at. In my opinion, the latter sum is certainly too high. The house is situated at about the same distance from the Natural History Museum as our present premises, and would be in every way most suitable for our purposes; it is therefore very desirable that an arrangement satisfactory to both parties should be reached.

The move will inevitably involve a good deal of expenditure. We shall have to fit gas fires into all the rooms, for the use of coal is out of the question; the larger size of the rooms and the two flights of stairs will involve the purchase of a good deal more floor covering; and more electric light fittings, shelving and tables will also be needed. At a very rough guess the expenditure may be somewhere in the vicinity of £200.

Collections of Insects. An increase in the amount of material received for identification has again to be reported; and, for the sake of comparison, in the following details the figures for the corresponding six months of last year are given in brackets. In all, 84 (82) consignments of insects were received, containing 15,000 (9,700) specimens, of which 5,250 (3,000) were blood-sucking insects. The number

283

of lists of names sent out to correspondents was 33 (30)-Africa, 14; Asia, 11; Tropical America, 4; Australasia, and these comprised 1,060 (636) specific identifications.

The fact that the identification work has not only been maintained but increased, in spite of the serious interruption caused by the Conference, has been due mainly to our new Entomological Assistant, Dr. B. P. Uvarov, who entered on his duties on 25th June, and has already proved himself to be a thoroughly competent and very assiduous worker. As a result of the personal intercourse that took place at the Conference, and also in view of the increase in the number of entomological posts in our tropical Colonies, it seems highly probable that this branch of our work will show considerable expansion in the near future.

"Bulletin of Entomological Research."-Although another volume (No. X) was completed during the past half year, it is impossible to give a full statement as tc its cost, because the last account received from the Stationery Office does not extend beyond part 2 of volume IX, published in September, 1918. The following, how- ever, is an account of the cost of distribution and of the receipts from sales and advertisements :-~

Subscriptions

Sales of separate parts Advertisements

£ 8. d. 86

2 7 Postages

58 8 0 Clerical work

11 14 0 Credit balance

£156 4 7

£

8. d.

28 11 3

6 0 0 121 13

4

£156 4 7

The net receipts from Messrs. Dulau & Co. for volume IX were £105, and £93 for volume VIII. The number of subscribers was 189, as compared with 177 and 169 in the two preceding years.

It has now been possible to bring the publication of the parts more up to date; and if, as seems likely, part 3 of volume XI is out before Christmas, six parts will have been issued within the calendar year.

Carnegie Studentships.-During his visit to England, Dr. L. O. Howard very kindly agreed to continue his supervision of our Carnegie Students while they are in the United States, as in the past, and also to disburse the sums that were payable to them. In view of the rise in prices, the Selection Sub-Committee agreed to increase the annual grants from £250 to £300, and the travelling allowance to £150, including the return passage. But as a result of representations from Dr. Howard these sums were further augmented to £400 and £200, respectively, to compensate for the unfavourable exchange.

The following Studentships were approved by the Sub-Committee:-

Professor W. H. Brittain, Provincial Entomologist, Nova Scotia-two periods of seven months each for special research work at Cornell. Mr. A. B. Baird, Assistant Entomologist, British Columbia-one year. Mr. F. O. Bain, Edinburgh University-one year.

Messrs. H. Hargreaves, J. C. M. Gardner, and G. S. Cotterell, all of the

Imperial College of Science-nine months each.

Messrs. Hargreaves and Gardner subsequently relinquished their Studentships on taking up appointments in Uganda and India, respectively; and Mr. Cotterell desired to defer his until after his first year of service as Assistant Entomologist in the Gold Coast. November, 1920.