TBE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 99 



be gathered from a paragraph in the Literary Gazette of 

 August 20: 



The resolution to preserve the Museum, and with it the scientific, versus 

 the mere wild-beast-show part of the Society, has been fully confirmed, and 

 a design by Mr. Elmslie provisionally adopted for the building. Towards 

 erecting this in the Gardens £5,000 have been recommended out of the 

 permanent fund. 



Difficulties were encountered with regard to a site ; the 

 design was abandoned, and it was resolved to convert the old 

 carnivora house, " enlarged by a new building of equal dimen- 

 sions on the south," into a Museum. By this means the Museum 

 and Carnivora Terrace were completed for less than the sum voted 

 for the Museum alone. In 1843 the work of transferring the 

 preserved specimens to the Gardens was begun, and completed 

 in the following year. It was found that the collections had 

 suffered little injury during their storage in Dufour's Place, and 

 they were provisionally arranged in the new building, which was 

 opened to visitors to the Gardens without further payment. 



The change was not a success. Moreover, the financial con- 

 dition of the Society precluded any expenditure beyond what 

 was absolutely necessary for the conservation of the specimens. 

 At the Annual Meeting in 1848 the Council announced that 

 they felt the less regret on this account because the National 

 Collections now provided a great increase of materials for the 

 study of zoology, as far as it could be prosecuted from preserved 

 specimens. In the following year the distribution of duplicates 

 began on a large scale ; and hereafter the only additions to the 

 mounted specimens were rare species that had died in the 

 Menagerie and were not represented in the Museum. There 

 was a change of policy in 1850, and a special Committee of 

 the Council recommended that the specimens should be 

 offered to the Government for a fair equivalent. 



An important move was made in 1843, when the ofiices were 

 transferred to No. 11, Hanover Square, which was taken on 

 lease. The Council Room was fitted up to receive " the more 

 valuable and ornamental portions of the Museum collections," 

 and the Secretary's room served also as a library, but the books 

 did not number a thousand till 1848. With this removal to 

 more commodious quarters there came a revival of interest in 



