PREFACE 



Three and a half years have elapsed since the first 

 volume of the Hope Reports was issued, in June 1897. 

 During this period the materials for the second volume 

 have been gradually accumulating, representing certain 

 important sides of the work done in the Department, or 

 upon portions of its collections which have been removed 

 for study and comparison with those of other museums. 

 I had hoped that this second volume would have been 

 ready in a somewhat shorter time, but other sides of our 

 work have prevented an earlier appearance. The Reports 

 of the Department for the years 1897, 1898, and 1899 

 (Nos. 21, 22, and 23) sufficiently indicate the nature of 

 this work, and prove that much labour has been expended 

 upon the manipulation, naming, and systematic arrangement 

 of this vast collection, together with the numerous accessions 

 due to the kindness of naturalists in many parts of the 

 world. A large amount of cataloguing and the printing of 

 many thousands of labels have also been rendered necessary 

 by the new material. Furthermore, a considerable pro- 

 portion of the papers in this volume are abstracts of 

 much longer and more detailed memoirs, many of which are 

 far advanced towards completion. This is the case with 

 the papers of which Nos. 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are abstracts: 

 these, when published, will contribute an important share to 

 the third volume of the Hope Reports. 



