306 ON THE IBIS. 



most of the species of the family of scolopaceous 

 birds. 



Lastly, our naturalists returned from the expe- 

 dition to Egypt with a rich harvest of objects, as 

 well ancient as recent. My learned friend M. 

 GeofFroy St Hilaire, in particular, had occupied 

 himself with the greatest care in collecting mum- 

 mies of all descriptions, and had brought with 

 him a great number of those of the ibis, both 

 from Saccara and Thebes. 



The former were in the same state as those 

 which M. Grobert had brought, that is to say, 

 their bones had undergone a sort of half burning, 

 and were without consistence ; they broke on the 

 slightest touch, and it was very difficult to obtain 

 any entire, and still more so to detach them for 

 the purpose of making a skeleton. 



The bones of those brought from Thebes were 

 much better preserved, either on account of the 

 greater heat of the climate, or from the more effi- 

 cacious means employed for their preparation ; 

 and M. GeofFroy having sacrificed some of them 

 to me, M. Rousseau, my assistant, succeeded, by 

 dint of patience and address, and by the employ- 

 ment of ingenious and delicate methods of proce- 

 dure, in making up an entire skeleton, by strip- 

 ping all the bones, and connecting them with a 

 very fine wire. This skeleton is deposited in the 

 anatomical galleries of the museum, of which it 



