4G0 Letters, Announcements, ^c. 



the interiors in hundreds, and there was a sufficient supply of 

 them to have swept away the whole collection in a few months. 

 Luckily the excellence of Mr. Hume^s cabinets had defied so 

 far the ravages of insects on the principal series. By dint 

 of Avork from six in the morning till sunset, the birds were 

 packed and despatched in about three weeks, and, thanks 

 to the assistance received from Mr. Higgins, the post- 

 master at Simla, and the post-master at Umballa, they were 

 rapidly sent ofl' to Bombay and shipped to England. I have 

 also to acknowledge the help which was rendered to me by 

 the station-masters at Umballa, Delhi, and again at Sabar- 

 mati, at all of which stations the cases had to be transferred 

 to fresh lines for conveyance. In fact, every one interested 

 themselves in the work ; and Mr. Duxbury, the able traftic- 

 manager of the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway, 

 was particularly obliging in procuring the rapid despatch of 

 the cases, so that all were delivered in good order to the 

 P. & O. Co. at Bombay, and were by them sent to England 

 with great care and rapidity. It so came to pass that, when 

 I reached the Natural History Museum myself, forty of the 

 cases had already been delivered. Thirty-eight I brought on 

 board the ' Ballarat ' with me, and the last two cases followed 

 in about ten days. Thus within four months from my 

 leaving the Museum I had the gratification of finding the 

 whole of this most valuable collection safely landed within 

 its walls. 



"The packing of the 18,500 eggs proved a long and tedi- 

 ous aftair. They were first separately rolled up in wool and 

 arranged in small boxes. These were afterwards care- 

 fully packed and padded in large cases. So far as I can 

 see, they have all arrived in good condition. Of course, 

 when once delivered at the railway, the risk of damage to the 

 cases Avas greatly diminished ; but before reaching the train 

 at Umballa there was the task of getting them down the 

 mountains, and the Bullock-train office at Simla was at a 

 distance of a mile from Mr. Hume's house. My staff of 

 coolies proved insufficient for the task of lowering the heavy 

 weights down the trap-door of Mr. Hume's museum, and I 



