29 



colour cliosen gives a warm and pleasing aspect, to the general appear- 

 ance of the room. It also forms an admirable background for whatever 

 objects have, as yet, been exhibited against it. Should the experi- 

 ment stand the test of time, the distemper will be used luiiversally 

 throughout the exhibition galleries, with a probable slight variety of 

 colours to suit the circumstances. 



Another innovation in the wall-cases has been the substitution, in 

 certain cases, of plate-glass for the old wooden side-shelves. These 

 shelves are cut out of broken sheets of plate-glass which were origin- 

 ally intended for case-fi'onts. Tliey give a decidedly liglit and airy 

 appearance to the inside of the cases. As there is a good deal of this 

 broken glass still in hand, it will be possible to extend the "use of it in 

 this way into all the collections where the opportunity presents itself. 



THE COLLECTIONS. 



1. Zoology (Rooms D and E) and Osteology 

 (Part of Room B). 



The mammalia were registered and catalogued, re-classified in 

 some orders, and cleaned throughout. A list of the collection was 

 compiled and will appear, in due course, in the "Journal of the 

 Federated Malay States Museums." This list gives the total number 

 of mammalian specimens at the end of 1905 as 297, representing eight 

 orders, 27 families and 93 species. 



Part of the spirit collection (snakes and batrachia) were installed 

 in the passage leading into the new wing, in two of the old-fashioned 

 cases with small panes of glass ; but the impossilnlity of arranging the 

 specimens without the interference of the wood-work places the ]n'e- 

 parations at a great disadvantage. A few rectangular preservative 

 jars have been introduced here in place of the round ones. A stock 

 of these jars is in hand, and all the batrachian specimens will eventually 

 be remounted in them, in addition to introducing them into other 

 parts of the Zoological Department. 



The first of an instructive series of preparations, illustrating the 

 evolution of different animals' lives from the embryo to the adult 

 stage, has been placed in this case, and shows the metamorphosis of 

 the frog {Rana esculenta) from the egg, or spawn, to the fully deve- 

 loped animal. Similar series obtained from England during the year 

 were: the honey-bee (Apis mellifica) and the crab (Carcinus maenas). 



A table-case will also be at the disposal of the reptilia when the 

 birds' nests and eggs have been embodied in the general ornithological 

 collection. The larger specimens of the chelouia already occupy half 

 the case. 



