Administration: Notes by an Old Hand

Any difficulty which may be experienced by an Honorary President of this Society in selecting materials for his opening address does not arise from there being a dearth of subjects likely to interest you. It has occurred to me, however, that for one who has retired from active business and who is almost certainly addressing you for the last time, an appropriate object might be to try whether his own professional experience could suggest any ideas or hints that might possibly be even a little helpful to his younger brethren. The chief occupation of my life has been to administer the affairs of a Joint Stock Company, and I propose now to speak of the work of administration generally, and more particularly of the management of such associations as Insurance Offices. In doing so, I need scarcely say that if a man near the close of life can think of any lessons he has learnt or any he can possibly impart, they must be chiefly drawn from his own mistakes and failures. Experience and reflection which have often come too late for his own use may be not altogether unserviceable to others.</jats:p

The Duties of an Actuary in his Professional Relationships

The distinction which this Society has conferred on me by electing me its Honorary President for the year is one that is much enhanced by repetition; and I have to acknowledge with peculiar gratitude that this is the sixth occasion on which I have had the privilege of addressing you in that character. Twenty-one years ago, in the infancy of the Society, I selected for a topic “The Profession of an Actuary.” On looking back, I find that since then I have brought under your notice the subjects of “Fire Insurance,” of “The Future Interest of Money in connection with Life Assurance Institutions,” and of “Some of the Principles to be observed in Life Office Valuations;” and I ventured on the last occasion, a few years ago, to select a wider and less technical theme, and to invite attention to a general view of the Philosophy and Ethics of Business. I propose now to recur to the topic of our Profession, and to try whether an acquaintance with it of now forty years may not offer a few suggestions, that may possibly be of service to some of you who are engaged in fitting yourselves for its highest duties.</jats:p

112. Feeding Butterfat to Dairy Cows

1. The feeding of butterfat in the form of butter or cream had no significant influence on the yield or composition of the milk.2. At the beginning and end of the fat-feeding periods there was atendency for some of the cows to go off feed.</jats:p