66 Mr. W. L. Sclater — The Indian Museum 



could be found who was willing and competent to undertake 

 the onerous duties of honorary curator, and it became 

 necessary to appoint a paid officer, although the Society 

 were able to afford only 50 rupees per mensem for his salary. 

 This arrangement went on for some time^ but was not very 

 satisfactory^ as it was impossible for so small a sum to get 

 any one competent to undertake scientific work. Eventually, 

 in 1836, a financial crisis in the aff'airs of the Society made 

 it impossible to continue even the small grant of 50 rupees 

 per mensem for the curator's salary. 



An appeal was therefore made to the Government of India 

 for a grant of 200 rupees per mensem as the salary of a 

 properly qualified officer to look after the Museum, and 

 after considerable negotiation with the Governor-GeneraFs 

 Council in India and the Court of Directors in England, a 

 monthly grant of 300 rupees was sanctioned for this purpose. 



Dr. Pearson and subsequently Dr. McClelland were 

 successively appointed curators under this arrangement, but 

 it was afterwards decided to get out from Europe a properly 

 qualified person, who would devote the whole of his time to 

 the Museum. The late Edward Blyth was accordingly 

 appointed, and came out and took up his office in 1841. 



A new era now began for the Museum. Blyth devoted 

 himself enthusiastically to the work of forming a really 

 complete collection of Indian Vertebrates. The new curator 

 was soon in correspondence with various people interested in 

 natural history throughout India, and was quickly supplied 

 with specimens, which he described in numerous reports 

 and papers published in the Asiatic Society's Journal. 

 Among his various correspondents may be mentioned 

 Col. S. R. Tickell, Capt. Hutton, Mr. Brian H. Hodgson, 

 Major Berdmore, Sir Walter Elliot, Mr. Layard, and Dr. 

 Kelaart. 



The information acquired by Blyth on Indian Birds was 

 mostly collected into the ' Catalogue of the Birds of the 

 Asiatic Society's Museum,' published in 1849, which is the 

 basis of all subsequent work on Indian Ornithology. 

 After twenty-one years' incessant toil, Blyth was compelled 



