458 Letters, Announcements , 6fc. 



outside with full particulars of the specimen within. Fancy 

 the labour this represents with 60,000 specimens ! The tin 

 cabinets were all of materials of the best quality^ specially 

 ordered from England, and put together by the best Calcutta 

 workmen. At each end of the room were racks reaching up 

 to the ceiling, and containing immense tin cases full of birds. 

 As one of these racks had to be taken down during the repairs 

 of the north end of the museum, the entire space between 

 the table-cases was taken up by the tin cases formerly housed 

 in it, so that there was literally no space to walk between 

 the rows. On the western side of the museum was the 

 library, reached by a descent of three steps — a cheerful room, 

 furnished with large tables, and containing, besides the egg- 

 cabinets, a well-chosen set of working volumes. One ceases 

 to wonder at the amount of work its owner got through 

 when the excellent plan of his museum is considered. In a 

 few minutes an immense series of specimens could be spread 

 out on the tables, while all the books were at hand for imme- 

 diate reference. It did not take me many hours to find out 

 that Mr. Hume was a naturalist of no ordinary calibre, and 

 this great collection will remain a monument of the genius 

 and energy of its founder long after he who formed it has 

 passed away. After explaining to me the contents of the 

 museum itself, we went below into the basement, which con- 

 sisted of eight great rooms, six of them full, from floor to 

 ceiling, of cases of birds, while at the back of the house two 

 large verandahs were piled high with cases full of large birds, 

 such as Pelicans, Cranes, Vultures, &c. An inspection of a 

 great cabinet containing a further series of about 5000 

 eggs completed our survey : Mr. Hume gave me the keys of 

 the museum, and I was free to commence my task at once. 

 In anticipation of being able to pack the collection him- 

 self, Mr. Hume had engaged a staff of carpenters, and had 

 ready twenty-six wooden cases made for as many tin cabinets, 

 which, it was hoped, would convey the collection to England. 

 I thought, for the first few days, that this number would 

 have sufficed ; but as the great boxes were brought up from 

 below, and their contents packed in the museum, it became 



