44 Department of Zoology, 



1879-1881. Illustrations of Typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera : 

 Part 3. By A. G. Butler. Pp. 82, plates 41-60. 1879. 

 Part 4 (North American Tortricidse). By Lord Walsingham. 



Pp. 84, plates 61-77. 1879. 

 Part 5. By A. G. Butler. Pp. 74, plates 78-100. 1881. 



GROWTH OP THE COLLECTION. 

 (1879-81.) 



In these three years three very large collections (East India 

 Museum, Gould and Hewitson Collections) came into the 

 possession of the Trustees, swelling the total increase to 119,766, 

 or an annual average of 40,000 specimens. Apart from those 

 large accessions, the annual average would be 24,400, or about 

 the same as in the last seven years. 



1. In 1879 the remainder of the Zoological Museum of 

 the late East India Company was transferred to the custody of 

 the Trustees, a portion having been previously received in 1860. 

 On the present occasion the donation was accompanied with the 

 documents relating to the specimens. Such specimens only as 

 were actual desiderata of the British Museum, or to which 

 historical interest was attached, were retained and incorporated, 

 viz., 672 Mammals, 6409 Birds, 28 Tortoises, 125 Fishes, 217 

 Molluscs, 83 Crustaceans, 1813 Insects, and 52 Radiates. By 

 the desire of the Secretary of State for India a great portion of 

 the economic products were transferred to the South Kensington 

 Museum, and the other duplicates distributed among six other 

 museums whose principal object is the advancement of the 

 natural history of the Indian Empire. 



2. In the same year the Lords of the Admiralty presented 

 the first consignment of the collections made by Staff-Surgeon 

 -B. W. Coppinger during the survey by H.M.S. Alert of the 

 southern extremity of South America. A fuller reference to 

 these valuable collections is made below (p. 63). 



3. Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Murray delivered now in con- 

 tinuous succession the Challenger collections as soon as he received 

 them from the specialists entrusted with the .Reports. Between 

 1879 and 1881 the following were received : 661 Shore-fishes, 

 795 skins and 226 eggs of Birds, 919 Ostracoda, 944 Deep-sea 

 Corals, 160 Pennatulida, 584 Echinoiclea, and 197 Pycnogonida. 



4. A complete set of the animals collected by Prof. I. B. 

 Balfour in the Island of Socotra was presented by the Socotra 

 Committee of the British Association. 



