Letters, Announcements, ^c. 457 



posed it to great risk of destruction from moth and damp. 

 It was^ in fact, an intimation from Mr. Hume that several 

 thousands of birds had ah'eady been eaten by insects that 

 induced Mr. Sharpe to volunteer to go to India at once and 

 pack the collection before another rainy season commenced 

 and further damage ensued. He reached Simla on the 19th 

 of May, having started on the 24th of April from London, 

 and on his return . arrived at Plymouth on the 10th of 

 August, having completed his task in less than four months. 

 Altogether the collection consists of 63,000 birds, 500 nests, 

 18,500 eggs, besides 400 skins of Mammalia. 



Mr. Sharpe wrote to us more than once during the pro- 

 gress of his work, and the following account of Mr. Hume^s 

 museum may interest our readers : — " I arrived at Rothney 

 Castle about 10 a.m. on the 19th of May, and was warmly 

 welcomed by Mr. Hume3 who lives in a most picturesque 

 situation high up on Jakko, the house being about 7800 feet 

 above the level of the sea. From my bedroom window 

 I had a fine view of the snowy range. Although somewhat 

 tired with my jolt in the tonga from Solun, I gladly ac- 

 companied Mr. Hume at once into the museum, for I was 

 only too glad to find some work to do after my month^s 

 enforced idleness during the voyage. I had heard so much 

 from my friends, who knew the collection intimately, such 

 as Mr. Davison, Capt. Bingham, and others, that I was not 

 so much surprised when at last I stood in the celebrated mu- 

 seum and gazed at the dozens upon dozens of tin cases which 

 filled the room. Before the landslip occurred, which carried 

 away one end of the museum, it must have been an admirably 

 arranged building, quite three times as large as our meeting- 

 room at the Zoological Society, and, of course, much more 

 lofty. Throughout this large room went three rows of table- 

 cases with glass tops, in which were arranged a series of the 

 birds of India sufficient for the identification of each species, 

 while underneath these table-cases were enormous cabinets 

 made of tin, with trays inside, containing series of the birds 

 represented in the table-cases above. All the specimens 

 were carefully done up in brown-paper cases, each labelled 



