330 Obituarij. [lljis, 



when completed. It was originally proposed to issue the 

 work in sixty parts^ but owing to the ever increasing amount 

 of material received from the collectors, the zoological parts 

 alone numbered 215, and it was not until June 1915 that 

 the last one was issued. 



The work, as completed, consists of 63 volumes, of which 

 one forms the Introduction, 51 are occupied witli Zoology, 

 5 with Botany, and 6 Avith Archaeology. The whole of it 

 was edited by Salvin and Godman, and after Salvin's death 

 in 1898 by Godman alone. The three volumes on the Birds 

 and three others on the Diurnal Lepidoptera were prepared 

 by Salvin and Godman themselves, while the others were 

 written by various specialists. The volumes contain alto- 

 gether 1677 plates, of Avhich more than 900 are coloured, 

 and the total number of species described is 50,263, of which 

 19,263 are described lor the first time. 



In 1885 Godman and Salvin resolved to })resent their 

 wonderful Neotropical collections to the Bi'itish Museum, 

 and it was arranged that as soon as the portions of the 

 'Biologia' containing the descriptions of the particular group 

 were published, the specimens should be transferred to the 

 National Collection, 



Of bird-skins alone over 520,000 were contained in this 

 magnificent donation. It included not only the collections 

 made by Salvin and Godman themselves chiefly in Guatemala, 

 but many others from various parts ot" South America, the 

 Mexican collections obtained by Godman himself and his 

 collectors when in that country in 18c57, and the great 

 Henshaw collection of the Birds of the United States, 

 containing over 13,000 specimens, which was secured by 

 Godman in order to have a thoroughly authentic series of 

 North American birds for comparison with those of Mexico 

 and Central America. 



In 1907 Godman determined to complete a plan which 

 Salvin had contemplated of preparing a work on the Petrels 

 and Albatrosses. Salvin, who had written the portion of the 

 ' Catalogue of Birds of the British Museum^ dealing with 

 this group, had intended to supplement it by an illustrated 



