36 NATURAL SCIENCE. July, 



of the Society from members' subscriptions for the same period 

 having been about a tenth of that sum, and the subscriptions for 

 special purposes having yielded about ;^4,ooo. 



Having thus brought down the history to the year 1877, when the 

 complete transfer to the Government of the buildings and collections 

 was concluded by the payment to the Society of a total sum of ;^35,ooo, 

 including compensation for disturbance of the cattle shows, which 

 formerly used to be held on the premises, I now proceed, I fear some- 

 what imperfectly, because of necessity briefly, to describe what the 

 main features of the collections were which were so transferred. 



These consisted mainly of zoological specimens in the Natural 

 History Museum which had been acquired during a long course of 

 years by donation and purchase. There was also an extensive 

 Mineral collection, though not up to date. There were numerous 

 isolated Geological and Palaeontological collections, for the exhibition 

 of which but limited space had been available ; these included Sir 

 R. Griffith's collections, and several valuable collections from the 

 Arctic regions. There was a nucleus of an Ethnographical collec- 

 tion, a few antiquities, and some other miscellaneous objects, besides 

 a collection of agricultural implements, veterinary specimens, and 

 seeds, and a Botanical collection and Herbarium in the Botanic 

 Gardens. The Art collections consisted mainly of casts and water- 

 colours in the School of Art, and there was the then unsecured rever- 

 sion to the Foley Collection of Casts. 



The First Annual Report of the first Director of the Science and 

 Art Museum, Dr. William Edward Steele, who for 25 years previously 

 had been Assistant Secretary and Registrar of the Royal Dublin 

 Society, was dated January, 1879, and it covered the period from the 

 14th August, 1877, when the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act 

 passed, up to the close of 1878. It describes the initial steps taken in 

 the formation of the Art Department of the Museum, which has since 

 then grown to such important dimensions that it almost fills the large 

 building completed for its reception less than five years ago. A special 

 loan collection of scientific and art objects was prepared for exhibition 

 in the old Museum on the occasion of the visit of the British Associa- 

 tion in 1878. 



In that year a local Board of Visitors of the Museum and 

 Botanic Gardens was appointed, in accordance with the terms of 

 Lord Sandon's letter above referred to. 



During the year 1879 the want of space for exhibiting the 

 growing art collections was keenly felt. Mr. Longfield was appointed 

 to assist the Director in this department of the Museum. Among 

 the acquisitions w^ere the Foley casts, to which reference has already 

 been made. For the Natural History Department the unique fossil 

 of Plesiosauriis craiiiptoni, which had been lent to the Museum in 

 the year 1861, was purchased from the Zoological Society. There 

 were also many other purchases and presentations. 



