Annual Meeting, January 4th, 1864.
President in the Chair.
Fifteen members present.
E. Mathewson, Esq., of Martinez, was elected resident member.
The following is an abstract of the Annual Reports of the officers of the Society, for the past year (1863):
The Financial Report of the Trustees was received and accepted. During the year, $815.35 have been received from various sources, besides the balance on hand from 1862, of $141.22; $903.75 expended; and $52.82 remains in the hands of the Treasurer.
The Librarian (Prof. Whitney) reported verbally, that about fifty volumes have been added to the Library, mostly the publications of other Societies; that some sets of Journals have been rendered complete, by his own donations, and that the volumes of the “American Journal of Science” have been bound.
The Curator of Mineralogy (Mr. Moore) reports, that the collection is in nearly the same condition that it was at the commencement of the last year, that but few additions have been made, and that the work of cataloguing and classifying the specimens is in progress.
The Curator of Palæontology (Mr. Gabb) made no report.
The Curator of Botany (Dr. Kellogg) reports, that some additions have been made; that the collections are not in good condition for want of suitable cases, and recommends that new cases be procured, and that a suite of the specimens described by members of the Society be sent East, for comparison with specimens in those herbariums to which we have no access.
The Curator of Zoology (Dr. Cooper) made a verbal report, that he has been absent the most of the year, and that the collection has not materially changed since the last report, with the exception of an interesting collection of Birds deposited by Mr. Holder.
The Curator of Conchology (Dr. Trask) reported verbally, that about three hundred species of shells have been added to the collection during the year. Also, that he had received from Mr. Andrew Garrett, a collection of one hundred and fifteen species of Hawaiian Fishes, for the Museum.
The Curator of Entomology (Dr. Behr) reported verbally, that there have been no contributions, but that he will contribute from his own collection, and other persons have expressed their desire to do likewise, when the Society shall possess the means of accommodating and preserving the specimens.
The officers of the preceding year were reëlected, with the exception of Treasurer—S. Hubbard being elected in the place of Wm. Heffley, resigned.
The following resolution, prepared by Dr. Ayres, was unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That hereafter the Proceedings of the Academy be distributed gratuitously only to resident members and to such Societies and individuals as the Academy shall direct; and that the price of subscription to others be regulated by the Publishing Committee.
The Society authorized the publication of the following Constitutional amendments, adopted at the annual meeting, January 6th, 1862, the publication of which was accidentally omitted in the Proceedings of that year:
Amendment to Art. II, Sec. 4—That the Membership Fee, to be paid by an applicant for Resident membership, shall be two dollars, etc.—the remainder of the section remaining as before.
Amendment to Art. III, Sec. 2—This Association shall hold meetings on the First and Third Monday evenings of each month, for the investigation of Natural History, etc.—the remainder of the section remaining as before.
Dr. Ayres read extracts from letters containing inquiries in regard to the first volume of the Proceedings of the Society, which terminated abruptly, and was never finished. The supply has long been exhausted, and the republication has been frequently discussed; but as yet this is beyond the means of the Society.
Prof. Brewer communicated the following paper by Prof. Gray, giving the first installment of a series of descriptions of new plants from the botanical collections made by himself, while engaged in the State Geological Survey. These are a portion of the new species collected previous to 1863. The remainder will be described in future papers, along with those from the collection made after that time.