480 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



Our collection of skulls is fairly representative so far as it goes, but as this 

 could be largely supplemented by our 'Shikari ' members if they knew what we 

 wanted, we could probably soon add a good many if we were able to publish a 

 catalogue of what we have at present. 



For specimens of small mammals — say from the size of a squirrel downwards — 

 we can find accommodation, but until a few years ago they were represented 

 in our museum by a few spirit specimens of bats. We made an appeal to 

 members for dried skin specimens, with of course skull attached, but J am sorry 

 to say it has met with a very moderate response, though Mr. Wroughton helped 

 us with a number of nice specimens of bats and we have lately been fortunate 

 in having been offered valuable help by Colonel A. E. Ward. We have a few 

 specimens of squirrels, but in rats, mice and shrews there is hardly even the 

 nucleus of a collection. Small mammals are such simple things to skin and 

 make into specimens, compared for instance with birds, that almost anyone can 

 soon learn to turn out quite nice specimens, and few people have any idea of the 

 backward state of our knowledge of the smaller mammals of Jndia. Last year 

 at the British Museum Mr. Oldfield Thomas appealed to me to try and get 

 members of our Society to work in this department, pointing out how very 

 backward the naturalists of India are compared with almost every other corner 

 of the globe. I can assure you that there is endless original work to be done 

 amongst the rats, mice and shrews in the immediate neighbourhood of Bombay 

 just in the same way that there was amongst the bats when Mr. Wroughton 

 took them up, and as you know brought to light several new species and the 

 occurrence of several others that would never have been suspected, as recorded 

 in our journal. Rats and mice, however, are not 'showy' specimens, and for 

 this reason, I fancy, they so seldom attract the attention of amateur naturalists. 

 The care of this collection has fallen to my lot, and I am somewhat ashamed to 

 say that I have been able to devote so little time either to such collection as we 

 have or to the encouragement of members to collect. 



Passing on to the birds, I think I may say that we have a fairly 

 representative collection of skins. Our chief contributors have been Mr. G. W. 

 Vidal, Mr. E. H. Aitken, Mr. F. Field, Captain H. H. Harrington and 

 Major A. Nevvnham. I am glad to say that they are now all arranged — 

 so far as our limited accommodation permits — and catalogued, with the 

 exception of two valuable collections that have lately been received from 

 Captain H. T. Fulton from Chitral and from Captain H. Wood, R.E., from the 

 Shan States of Burma on the Chinese frontier. After what I quoted above 

 regarding the Hume collection at the British Museum you can well understand 

 that there is practically no finality in a collection of bird skins, but I think we 

 can always count upon having a number of keen ornithologists amongst our 

 members who will go on helping us in this direction. 



Our egg collection is also fairly representative, in good order and properly 

 catalogued. There are of course many gaps that could and ought to be filled 

 up, but you will, I am sure, be pleased to hear that one of our latest joined 



