PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



THIS List, which has been drawn up, under my superin- 

 tendence, by Mr. Louis Eraser, contained, as originally pre- 

 pared, only the Vertebrated animals living in the Gardens on 

 the 31st of December last, on which day it has been the 

 practice for some years to take an accurate census of the 

 Society's stock. The Council having determined to print it, 

 for the use of the Fellows and other persons who take an 

 interest in the Collection, I have carefully revised the whole, 

 and endeavoured to make it as complete as possible by adding 

 the species received since the beginning of the year. A living 

 collection being liable to perpetual change, it cannot, of course, 

 be expected that a list of this sort can be absolutely correct 

 at any given moment; but I believe that the errors and 

 omissions, as it at present stands, are not very numerous. 



It will be observed that the Society's Collection, which is 

 supposed to contain the most extensive series of living ani- 

 mals in existence, embraces about 1450 specimens, illustrating 

 188 species of Mammals, 409 of Birds, 62 of Reptiles, and 23 

 of Fishes altogether 682 species of Vertebrates. There is, 

 besides these, a large series of Invertebrated animals of dif- 

 ferent classes, kept in the House devoted to Aquaria, which 

 varies much in composition and amount. In the " Scientific 

 Index" to the List of Animals in the Society's Gardens, 

 published in 1844 (which is, I believe, the last classified list 

 issued), the number of species exhibited is given as 335 



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