Birds. 169 



The Museum Library does not contain quite all the successive 

 editions of the "Synopsis" after the 44th edition of 1842. 

 Those examined by me have been the 46th (1844), 47th (1844), 

 48th (1845), 49th (1846), 50th (1847), 52nd (1847), 53rd (1848), 

 54th (1849), 55th (1850), 57th (1851). After 1842 the descrip- 

 tions of the zoological objects were much curtailed in the 

 " Synopsis," as a separate "Guide to the Zoological Collections" 

 was to be obtained in the Hall (c/. 46th ed., p. 10, note). The 

 46th and 47th editions are apparently identical, and both were 

 issued in 1844, Those of 1845, 1846 and 1847 (edd. 48, 49, 50) 

 differ only in small particulars from the previous issues. The 

 51st edition is not in the Library, but doubtless did not differ 

 from the others published in the same year, as the 52nd to the 

 55th editions show little change as far as the Birds are concerned. 

 The 56th edition is unfortunately missing from the set in our 

 Library, but the 57th is interesting as showing some alterations 

 in the case of the British Birds and their eggs, which were 

 removed from the Eastern Gallery to the 3rd Room of the 

 Northern Gallery, to join the general British Collection as there 

 arranged. 



This plan of exhibition remained unaltered till the time of 

 the removal of the collections to the Natural History Museum 

 at Kensington. 



Since the early voyages had enriched the British Museum 

 with their valuable but ill-prepared results, many collections 

 had been added. Leaving aside for the moment several 

 valuable additions, which are duly chronicled below, one of the 

 principal donations was that of General Hardwicke, who during 

 his sei'vice in the Indian army made a collection of drawings 

 of Eastern birds by native artists, which afterwards formed 

 the basis of Gray and Hardwicke's " Illustrations of Indian 

 Zoology." 



He likewise presented to the British Museum a number of 

 mounted specimens of birds from all parts of the world, and many 

 of these specimens were so well mounted that they would not have 

 disgraced the best of modern taxidermists. General Hardwicke 

 seems to have been endued with extraordinary enthusiasm for 

 the study of natural history, and to have been a god-send to the 

 Museum in its earlier development. An oil-painting of this 

 " grand old man " of zoology is to be found in the Natural History 

 Museum. Sir John Richardson gives the following account of 

 General Hardwicke (see Report Brit. Ass., 1845, p. 188, note) : — 



