14 Nicholson, Inaugural Address. 



concluded his suggestions with an appeal to collectors to 

 give of their best to the Museum, on the ground that 

 unique specimens belong of right to the public. The Club 

 accepted Mr. Darbishire's suggestions as the basis of its 

 work. The Society granted £\o to the Club for expenses 

 in the arrangement of the British Room. The various 

 superintendents reported on the collection in 1862. In 

 Crustacea Dr. Alcock found that "in their present state, 

 they cannot be called a collection. Many of the specimens 

 are imperfect, some are unnamed, and no kind of arrange- 

 ment of them has been adopted," and in mammalia Mr. 

 Darbishire noticed " the singular absence of excellence 

 throughout. The specimens, with very i&w exceptions, are 

 old and very dirty, some are atrociously stuffed," and he 

 recommended the removal or destruction of many of the 

 specimens. Dr. Alcock reported that the collection of 

 British echinodermata was very good, though not complete. 

 Mr. Sidebotham reported on the lepidoptera, that the 

 specimens in the showcases were bleached and required 

 renewal, while those in the cabinets were in fair condition 

 and of considerable value. 



I should like to mention here that on June ist, 1863, 

 I was proposed for membership of the Club, being already 

 a member of the Society, by Mr. Geoige E. Hunt and 

 Mr. Thomas Coward, and was elected on June 30th, 

 1863. 



In 1864 Dr. Alcock reported on the British mammalia, 

 and showed that in the two years that had elapsed since 

 Mr. Darbishire's report on the same class some improve- 

 ments had been made, but that the collection still con- 

 tained some poor specimens, though many of the old 

 specimens had been discarded. It is obvious, however, 

 that the Club had taken on more work in the Museum 

 than it could manage, and its meetings were not well 



