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



trustees took over formal charge of the collections from the 

 Asiatic Society. In the following year a fresh arrangement 

 was entered into with the Society, which was embodied in 

 Act XXII. of 1876. By this the Society gave up all claim 

 to accommodation in the new Museum, and in return the 

 Government presented them with the freehold of their house 

 in Park Street. 



The Bird Gallery and the Archaeological Gallery were 

 opened to the public in April 1878, and the Mammal 

 Gallery a year later. 



In the winter of 1883-4, the Calcutta International 

 Exhibition was held in the premises and buildings of the 

 Museum, and, of course, caused great interruption to the 

 work of arranging the Museum. A considerable quantity 

 of the materials illustrative of the Art and Economic 

 Products of India which had been collected together for the 

 Exhibition was formed into the nucleus of a new section of 

 the Museum, devoted to the same object. These collections 

 have remained until now in the old temporary sheds and 

 buildings erected for the Exhibition, but the Government of 

 Bengal have this year completed a very large new wing of 

 the Museum, to which they will shortly be transferred. 



The specimens in the Collection of Birds formed by Blyth 

 for the Asiatic Society were, as was the custom in those 

 days, all stuffed and exhibited to the public. They remained 

 in this condition till 1872, when Dr. Anderson went carefully 

 through them, and removed from the general collection all 

 the types and typical specimens described by Blyth in his 

 various reports. These types were carefully dismounted, 

 ticketed, placed in brown paper covers, and put away in a 

 cabinet. It was found that many of these valuable speci- 

 mens were in a precarious condition from exposure to light 

 and insects, and it was thought that this was the best way of 

 preserving them from further deterioration. 



The remainder of the collection forms the nucleus of the 

 present collection of stuffed birds, to which, however, a 

 great many specimens have since been added. 



In 1877 Major Godwin-Austen catalogued the collection 



