22 Department of Zoology. 



1870-74. 

 CHANGES IN THE STAFF. 



1870-1874. About the middle of 1869 Dr. J. E. Gray was prostrated by 

 a stroke of apoplexy. Although he never recovered the use of 

 his right arm and leg, his indomitable energy * enabled him to 

 return to his official duties after a few months' illness and to con- 

 tinue to hold his post until the latter half of 1874. He then felt 

 compelled by a complication of ailments to retire from the service 

 of the Trustees, to which he had given fifty years of unremitting 

 care and labour, and the severance from which he survived for 

 some months only. He died in 1875, before he had vacated his 

 official residence in the Museum. 



To assist Dr. Gray in the administrative work the Trustees 

 had resolved to . create the post of an Assistant Keeper for the 

 Department. Mr. G. B. Gray was appointed by the Trustees to 

 this post, and after his death, in 1872, he was succeeded by 

 Dr. A. Gunther. 



Dr. W. Baird died in 1871. 



The two vacancies thus caused in the staff of Assistants were 

 filled by the appointment of Messrs. E. J. Miers and B. Bowdler 

 Sharpe. The former was directed to acquaint himself with the 

 collection of Crustaceans and to act as amanuensis to Dr. Gray, 

 while the latter was placed in charge of the Bird Collection. 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE COLLECTION. 

 (1870-74.) 



The work on the collections did not suffer any serious inter- 

 ruption by reason of these changes in the staff. , In fact, the year 

 1870 found Dr. Gray in his place engaged in the continuation 

 of catalogues and lists of certain sub-orders of Mammalia, Dr. 

 Gunther going over the greatly congested exhibited portion with 

 the double object of ensuring the identification and elucidating 

 the history of many of the specimens, and secondly of weeding 

 out deteriorated or duplicate examples and substituting more 

 perfect ones. This work included the Quadrumana, Carnivora 

 and Edentata. 



* A few days after his seizure, and while he still had difficulty in 

 articulating, he sent for me and gave me his instructions as to completing 

 the description of a new species, on which he had been engaged on the day 

 of his illness. 



