Ajinual Report of the Council. 239 



them his devoted attention. Chiefly sent, in the first instance, 

 by Walter Mantell to his father, the well-remembered Gideon 

 Mantell, they were laid out in a warmed upper-room of the 

 geologist's house in Chester Square, throughout an entire 

 winter, to facilitate their study by Owen — a facility of 

 which the great anatomist abundantly availed himself. 

 Histories of the British Fossil Reptiles, as well as successive 

 monographs on the Fossil Turtles and their allies from the 

 British Tertiary Deposits, from the Cretaceous Beds and 

 from the Wealden Strata, appeared in the volumes of the 

 Palaeontographical Society. The Fossil British Tertiary 

 Serpents and the Crocodiles were dealt with in the same 

 manner. Amidst all these astounding labours the Crown 

 called upon him to undertake a new and serious task. 

 Changes occurring in the management of the British Museum 

 in Bloomsbury, Owen was appointed the supreme Director of 

 the entire department of Natural History. The want of 

 more space in that Institution had long before been felt by 

 the then head of the Zoological Department, the late John 

 Edward Gray. Owen soon also became convinced that 

 such increase of space was absolutely indispensable. He 

 lost no time in urging the Government of the day to make 

 provision for this want, and succeeded in inducing them to 

 bring in a bill authorising the erection of the necessary 

 buildings. The measure however met with violent opposition 

 in Parliament, and Owen personally received considerable 

 Parliamentary abuse for his supposed folly in promoting so 

 extravagant and needless a scheme. Notwithstanding this 

 the measure was carried, and Mr. Alfred Waterhouse, R.A., 

 received instructions to prepare the plans for the present 

 buildings in Cromwell Road. These plans were carried out, 

 and the new Natural History Museum was opened in 1881 ; 

 the old museum in Bloomsbury being now left in the hands of 

 the antiquarians and the lovers of the plastic arts. Having 

 thus accomplished the great and final task of his life Owen 



