15 



one previously forwarded to that institution by the Society. 

 An extensive and interesting collection of skins of jMammalia, 

 chiefly collected in Nubia by Dr. Riippell, and forwarded to 

 the Society by the Directors of the Frankfort Museum, has 

 been acknowledged by the return to that establishment of a 

 series comprising some of the most valuable of the dupli- 

 cates from the stores of the Museum. 



Other duplicates from the Museum stores have been pre- 

 sented in the course of the past year to several of the pro- 

 vincial Museums of this country, including those of Canter- 

 bury, Ipswich, Truro, and Saffron Walden ; the Council 

 believing that in thus acting towards other institutions with 

 a liberality analogous to that which has hitherto been con- 

 stantly extended towards the Society, they were acting in 

 accordance with the wishes of the donors of the various 

 articles so disposed of to the promotion and diffusion of 

 zoological knowledge. 



If, for several years past, it has been evident that the 



Acquisition of a Museum 



of sufficient extent for the due display of the preserved 

 collections, was required, not merely for their security, but 

 in furtherance of the essential objects of the Society, the in- 

 crease of subjects which has taken place during the last two 

 or three years has rendered that necessity still more impe- 

 rative. In their last Annual Report the Council expressed 

 their trust that no long time would elapse before they might 

 be enabled to make some definite arrangement in a matter so 

 important to the welfare of the institution ; and their atten- 

 tion accordingly continued to be directed to the considera- 

 tion of the best means by which that object could be attained. 

 In August last the Council directed that plans should be 

 prepared by the Society's Architect of a building adapted 

 for a Museum; and on view of those plans they subse- 

 quently ordered a model to be made, as more fitted for show- 

 ing the general effect of the building. In the preparation 

 of the model a considerable delay took place, and it was not 



