LIFE OF FLOWER 39 



a report to the Council, on the supreme advantage to be 

 gained by combining in the proposed new Catalogue both 

 the recent and the fossil osteological Catalogues. Acting 

 on this, the Committee of Council resolved that such a 

 Catalogue should be prepared and published, and the 

 duty of doing this was thereupon confided to Mr. 

 Owen. 



For some reason or other, this excellent and far-seeing 

 resolution was not acted upon in its entirety ; and al- 

 though catalogues were in due course compiled by Owen 

 and published, the specimens belonging to animals still 

 extant were entered in volumes quite distinct from 

 these devoted to fossil bones and teeth ; while the two 

 series of specimens were likewise kept apart in the 

 museum itself. " Hence," as Flower subsequently ob- 

 served, " each series was incomplete, and required 

 reference to the other for its perfect illustration and 

 comprehension." These defects were remedied during 

 the administration of Flower, who not only arranged the 

 extinct specimens in their proper position among those 

 belonging to recent animals, but likewise followed the 

 same admirable plan in drawing up the Catalogues. 

 Later on, as we shall see in the sequel, he endeavoured 

 to introduce the same scheme into the Natural His- 

 tory Museum, but was prevented by the force of 

 circumstances from carrying his views into full effect, 

 although a small step in the right direction was ac- 

 complished. 



The first part of the Catalogue of the osteological 

 specimens in the museum of the College which, as 

 already said, is devoted to man alone, is a most laborious, 

 accurate, and valuable work, dealing first with the 



