The Indian Museum. 65 



VI. — On the Indian Museum and its Collection of Birds. 

 By W. L. ScLATER, M.A., F.Z.S., Deputy Superin- 

 tendent. 



The history of the Indian Museum is connected very closely 

 with tliut of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the nucleus 

 of tlie Museum having been formed of the large collection 

 contained in the Museum of the Asiatic Society, which was 

 made over to the Indian Government under a special Act 

 (No. XVII. of 1860). It will therefore be necessary, in 

 giving some account of the Indian Museum and its collec- 

 tions, to begin with a short history of its predecessor — the 

 Museum of the Asiatic Society. 



The Asiatic Society was founded in the year 1781, chiefly 

 through the exertions of Sir William Jones, who came out 

 to India in 1783 as a Puisne Judge of the late Supreme 

 Court. Sir William Jones, who was a most enthusiastic 

 Sanscrit scholar and Orientalist, was the first President of the 

 Society, and Warren Hastings, the then Governor-General, 

 was the first patron. 



At first the efforts and aims of the newly constituted 

 Society were almost entirely directed towards philological 

 and classical studies, and it was not until 1796 that the idea 

 of a museum was conceived. Nothing practical, however, 

 was done until eighteen years later, when, in 1814, Dr. 

 Nathaniel Wallich wrote a letter to the Society strongly 

 advocating the formation of a museum, and at the same 

 time offering the duplicates of his own rich collection as a 

 base to start on. Dr. Wallich proposed that the Museum 

 should contain antiquities, coins, implements of anthropo- 

 logical interest, animals, plants, and minerals, and ofi'ered 

 the Society his services as Honorary Superintendent. 

 Dr. Wallich's offer was accepted by the Society, and the 

 Museum was accordingly started, and increased rapidly for 

 several years. 



After Dr. Wallich's resignation of the honorary superin- 

 teudentship in 1817, difKculties began to arise. No one 



SER. VI. — VOL. IV. F 



