50 Department of Zooloqy. 



1879-1881. with wood-cuts, will supply all the information useful to the 

 public and draw their attention to the more remarkable types. 

 As the different divisions of the animal kingdom will be 

 separated in distinct rooms, it will be possible to prepare this 

 guide on an entirely different plan from that at present in use at 

 the British Museum, viz., in the form of a popular, but systematic 

 handbook of Natural History." 



It may be mentioned here that this plan was successfully 

 carried out in subsequent years, with the modification that a 

 separate guide for each gallery was prepared. These guides 

 were not only satisfactory to visitors to the Museum, but 

 hundreds of copies were disposed of to serve as useful handbooks 

 in schools in which Natural History instruction had been 

 introduced. 



The Trustees sanctioned Professor Owen's proposal to proceed 

 with the formation of the Index Museum as devised by him, but 

 its aim and constitution were greatly altered in subsequent years. 



THE DEPARTMENTAL LIBRARY. 



(1879-81.) 



A commencement of the formation of a Natural History 

 Library could be made in 1880, the Treasury allowing the 

 unexpended balance of the general grant for the preceding year 

 (5700) to be devoted to the purchase of books, and making a 

 further grant of 5000 for each of the five following years. The 

 Trustees approved of the plan of forming a distinct general 

 library, in which works for the use of more than one Department 

 should be collected, besides the four special departmental 

 libraries. The selection and acquisition of such general works 

 were left to the judgment of the Keepers, but to prevent duplica- 

 tion of purchases as well as to serve as a temporary guide for 

 zoological acquisitions, Dr. Giinther prepared the first catalogue 

 of the books in the Zoological Department, with the help of 

 John Saunders, a most able attendant of long standing in the 

 department; it comprised 1700 titles, including 182 works 

 purchased with the share of the Department in this year's 

 surplus (2231). None of these books were of an earlier date 

 than 1820. 



