58 THE SHORTER SCIENTIFIC PAPERS 



(e. g. 1001) to allow the eventual cataloguing of former 

 collections which have come into the possession of the 

 museum^ in a manner as nearly chronological as possible. 



Date received. — The most convenient formula for ex- 

 pressing the date on which an accession is received, is the 

 use of an Arabic numeral for the day of the month and a 

 Roman numeral for the month, followed by the year 

 {e. g., 6-IX-1898=September 6, 1898). The usual place 

 for the date is the upper right hand margin. At the end 

 of every year, a card can be inserted, on the tab of which 

 the particular year is indicated. Thus the material ob- 

 tained by the museum during any particular period is at 

 all times readily ascertained. 



Description of material. — The general nature of the 

 consignment should be indicated, {e. g. archaeological 

 material, mammal skeletons, fishes) as well as the manner 

 in which it is packed (number of packages, boxes, etc.). 

 In this connection a record should also be kept as to 

 whether the accession is received as a 'purchase,' *ex- 

 change,' 'gift,' 'in trust,' or through 'museum collectors.' 

 This can be readily accomplished by having the above 

 words written on the card and placing a cross in the 

 proper space at the time of cataloguing. When procured 

 by purchase, the price should also be indicated. 



From whom received. — The name and permanent ad- 

 dress of the person sending the specimens, is to be noted 

 here. 



Transportation number. — It is often convenient to have 

 a record of the number or numbers placed upon the con- 

 signment by the transportation companies, particularly 

 in the event of breakage or loss of any of the contents of 

 a package or box. 



Name of collector. — Many collections are deficient in 

 labels bearing accurate information, consequently it is 

 advisable to ascertain the names of individuals concerned 

 in collecting the specimens, so that if desirable, further 



^When accession catalogues have been maintained separately by the departments, 

 the numbers in the new catalogue must be of a higher order than the sum of the 

 previous ones used, provided it is desired to maintain the approximate chronological 

 order. 



