1<S99.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 7 



residence in India. The duplicates of his collection were dispersed 

 at auction, and Dr. Wilson obtained the only full set.® 



Neither of these collections reached the Academy for a year or 

 two afterward, the Gould collection being placed in Verreaux's 

 hands for mounting and the Boys collection being loaned to Mr. 

 Gould for use in preparing his Birds of Asia. 



While Dr. Wilson Avas bringing together his enormous collec- 

 tion, many smaller additions were being made to the Academy's 

 .-eries. 



Between the years 1846 and 1860 the collections of Gambel, 

 Cassin, Edw. Harris, -Kern, Krider, Dr. Kane, T. C. Henry, Dr. 

 Heermann, Dr. Woodhouse and McCall were received, and mate- 

 rially increased the collection of North American birds. 



On March 20, 1860, Dr. Wilson formally presented his entire 

 collection, then estimated at 26,000 specimens, to the Academy. 



The next ten years show comparatively little increase in the 

 collection, the most important additions being the African birds 

 received from the DuChaillu expeditions which were sent out 

 partly under the auspices of members of the Academy," and the 

 D'Oca collection from Mexico. 



Quite a number of specimens were received at this time by gift 

 and exchange from the Smithsonian Institution. AVith the death 

 of Dr. Wilson in 1865, and of John Cassin in 1860, active orni- 

 thological work at the Academy ceased, and with the exception of a 

 few scattered specimens, no addition of importance was made to the 

 collection until 1887. 



The accessions since that date, as shown in the appended list, 

 have been extensive and immber to date about 17,500 specimens. 



In the absence of any catalogue of the individual specimens, 

 Cassin' s estimate of the collection in 1860 can only be regarded as 

 approximate, and seems to have been too great. He states that 

 there were about 29,000 specimens in the collection at that time, 

 while up to 1887, 2,500 more were received, but our catalogue of 

 the specimens in the museum in 1887 shows only 25,945. 



While no doubt a number of specimens were lost or exchanged, 

 it seems hardly possible that as many as five thousand were dis- 



" See Jardine's Contributions to Ornithology, 1848, p. 23. 

 ' Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855, p. 410. 



