82 Department of Zoology. 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE COLLECTION. 

 (1891-92.) 



1891-1892. Special arrangements had to be made for the collection of 

 Birds' Eggs. In the old Museum this collection was quite insigni- 

 ficant, and deficient even as an exhibition of the British species. 

 The first important addition was received in the Gould collection, 

 purchased in 1881 ; other miscellaneous series followed ; and 

 finally, the magnificent donations of European and Asiatic species, 

 by Messrs. Godman and Salvin, Seelohm and Howard Sounders, 

 and of Indian eggs, by Mr. A. 0. Hume, added so much to the 

 number of specimens and imparted such a great value to this 

 collection that its systematic arrangement could be no longer 

 delayed. At the same time, the formation of a perfect series of 

 British Birds' eggs for exhibition, which could be consulted by 

 the public, had become very urgent. A series of cabinets, there- 

 fore, were provided ; and, for the better conservation of the eggs, 

 the same method which was in use for shells, viz., the placing of 

 each clutch or set on wool in glass-topped boxes, was adopted . A 

 requisite grant of money having been made by the Treasury, Mr. 

 Seebohm undertook the work of arranging both the general and the 

 British series ; and in the course of these two years he arranged 

 and catalogued about 24,000 specimens, belonging to fifteen fami- 

 lies ; they occupied thirteen thirty-drawer cabinets. Two large 

 cabinets were set aside for the exhibition of the British series, the 

 drawers being constructed, for the use of visitors, in the same 

 manner as in the cabinets for the exhibition of Lepidopterous 

 Larvae. 



Some of the volumes of the Catalogue of Fishes were out of 

 print. Since the publication of the first volume thirty-three 

 years had elapsed, and the contributions made during this long 

 interval to our knowledge of the class, as well as to -the collection 

 in the Museum, had been so numerous and important as to 

 demand a thorough revision of the whole. Therefore, the 

 Assistant in charge of this part of the collection commenced the 

 MS. of a new edition of this catalogue, and made some progress 

 with the rearrangement of the Perch family. 



In every branch of the Department some part of the collection 

 was at this time in progress of systematic rearrangement ; of 

 many of these collections MS. lists were prepared, and of some 

 descriptive catalogues. The Ophidians, Myriopods, British Echi- 

 noderms, and Polyzoa were nearly completed, and good progress 

 had been made with the Land-shells and Madreporarians. 



