Isfo. 1.] ifATtRAL HISt6nY SOCIETY. 12 



*> 



and that even though there be a loss in a pecuniary point of view, 

 we must resjard them as affording- valuable knowledj^e of things 

 and objects which would be otherwise unknown. Your Council, 

 therefore, recommend that they be continued. 



The Council desires to draw the attention of members to the 

 collection of shells belonging to 3Ir. Whiteaves, your industrious 

 Curator, which he is now engaged in classifying ; they are so admir- 

 ably arranged that their inspection will be useful and interesting 

 to members of the Society and to students. Thanks are due Mr. 

 Whiteaves for the duplicates of the collection which he has kindly 

 presented to the 3Iuseum. 



Your Council have to report that the post of Taxidermist and 

 Janitor, left open by the resignation of the late Mr. Hunter, 

 whom the Society had some difficulty in replacing, has been well 

 and efficiently filled by 3Ir. Passmore. 



Mr. Whiteaves also read his report as Scientific Curator, of 

 which the followino: is an abstract : — 



Owing to the protracted ill health of our late deeply rco-retted 

 taxidermist, it was found that moths were makin"- havoc amono* 

 the birds and mammals. The case beins: ur2:ent, 3Ir. Crai^- was 

 called in, and we did our best to remedy the evil. On Mr. Pass- 

 more's arrival, I called his attention to this circumstance, and 

 he lost no time in making a searching examination into all the 

 cases, and did all that could be done in the way of applying" 

 the necessary remedies. Mr. Passmore and myself have also 

 studied closely our series of Canadian birds, have weeded out 

 several specimens which we have good reason to suppose are not 

 American examples at all, and have rectified some errors in the 

 previous nomenclature. The series is now in good order, and 

 none but authentic specimens are included in that part of the 

 collection. 



In the department of mammalia but one new species has been 

 added, namely, a noble example of the grizzly bear of the Rocky 

 Mountains. 



In ornithology, however, we have made much more progress. 

 Mr. A. Jowitt has given us thirty-nine specimens of English birds, 

 Major G. E. Bulger seven rare exotic species, but we have only 

 added twelve specimens to our collection of Canadian birds. We 

 have not to go far for a reason for this. When Mr. Passmore 

 arrived, ornithologists here thought that we now had another 



