52 THE SHORTER SCIENTIFIC PAPERS 



a rule it is of importance that the exact locahty from 

 which each specimen has been obtained should be recorded 

 .... This does not apply to archaeological objects alone 

 .... The date of finding or acquisition is often likewise of 

 importance." 



There are nevertheless a few papers which should be 

 mentioned. 



Hoyle, '91, described the cataloguing of specimens in 

 the Manchester Museum and formulated a system of 

 'registration' in book form, and of 'cataloguing' through 

 the use of cards. His registration catalogue corresponded 

 to that designated in the succeeding pages as The Depart- 

 ment Catalogue. It consisted of fourteen volumes bear- 

 ing reference letters A-O, beginning with A-Mammals, 

 B-Aves, etc., and ending with N -Mineralogy, and O- 

 Anthropology. Each volume contained space for 12500 

 specimens and was ruled in perpendicular columns so that 

 space for data concerning 'date,' 'name,' 'locality,' and 

 'remarks,' was afforded. When a specimen arrived at the 

 museum, the first vacant number in the volume corres- 

 ponding to the group to which the specimen belonged, 

 was affixed to it and the data concerning it noted in the 

 appropriate column. After the specimen was thus 'reg- 

 istered' (/'. e., our Department Catalogue) it was further 

 catalogued in what Hoyle described as the "Curators 

 Catalogue" (i. e.y our Reference Catalogue) by means of 

 which an official record of the contents of the museum 

 arranged according to a natural classification, was main- 

 tained. This is very similar to that which I have termed 

 The Reference Catalogue. It consisted of a buff 'family- 

 card' 5x3/4 inches, on which the name of the family 

 {e. g. Cidaridae) was written, a gray 'genus card' con- 

 taining the generic name {e. g. Cidaris), and a white 

 'species card' having the specific name (e. g. hystrix) and 

 the mode of preservation, the register number (/'. e. depart- 

 ment number) , and locality. 



The method of registration presents, in comparison 

 with a card system, the usual disadvantages of the book 

 catalogue as noted on a succeeding page. The absence of 

 a practical means of cross indexing the various volumes 



