Arrangement of the Collection. 87 



1893. 



The year 1893 proved to be not the least remarkable in the 

 history of the progress of the Department. The erection of the 

 new part of the building which contains the collections of 

 specimens preserved in spirit was commenced in 1891, and the 

 building with its fittings was ready for occupation about the 

 middle of the present year. The extension of the building was 

 63 feet long and increased the available area by 2961 square feet. 

 An additional advantage was gained by this extension : the new 

 room can be shut off by fire-proof sliding doors from the main 

 apartment, so that in case of fire in one room there would be a 

 chance of saving the contents of the other. Although by this 

 addition the storage space has been increased to a total of 

 1156 feet of wall or upright cases 10 feet high, and to 796 feet 

 of table-cases, it did not prove in any way in excess of the actual 

 requirements of these collections. All the spirit-specimens 

 temporarily stored in the main building were removed, and those 

 accumulated in the spirit-room were extended, so as to allow of 

 coming accessions being easily incorporated in their proper 

 systematic places. 



The acquisition of two celebrated entomological collections 

 (one as a purchase with the help of a special grant by the 

 Treasury, the other as a donation), combined with the accession 

 of several other very important collections of less magnitude, 

 swelled the total number of specimens added during 1893 to 

 130,185, a higher number than had ever been reached before 

 within the period of a single year. 



Unfortunately the Department sustained a severe loss by the 

 premature death, from heat-apoplexy, of Mr. George Brook at 

 the early age of thirty-six years. The Trustees had engaged his 

 services for arranging and cataloguing the collection of Corals 

 two years previously ; and no better evidence of the high quali- 

 fications of this talented man could be found than the volume 

 of the catalogue which he prepared in that period, and which 

 was published only a month before his death. 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE COLLECTION. 

 (1893.) 



The work of systematic rearrangement in the various groups 

 specified in the previous year was steadily continued and made 



