17 



fern house has been erected, and also a large trellis work 

 shelter for pot plants. Progress is being made with the 

 new plant labels. About 1000 hare been prepared, and 

 several hundreds of the names printed ready for mounting. 

 This work will be pushed on as expeditiously as possible. 

 Thanks are due to the Directors of the Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, London ; the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide and 

 Melbourne ; Baron Von. Miieller ; the Chamber of 

 Agriculture, Washington, U.S.A.; Messrs. Low of 

 London ; Verschaffelt, and Linden, of Ghent, Belgium, 

 and others, for their valuable donations and exchanges 

 during the year ; also to the owners and captains of vessels, 

 who have on many occasions gratuitously carried cases 

 of plants, &:c. for the Gardens. The Government has 

 rendered its usual assistance, as far as was in its power, in 

 the supply of labour necessary for the performance of the 

 rougher garden operations. The approximate number 

 of visitors to the Gardens during the year was 51,914. 



Museum. 



As stated in the monthly reports of the meetings, many 

 objects of interest have been added to the collection during 

 the year. As deserving special notice may be mentioned 

 a large number of mineral specimens received, through the 

 Tasraanian Commissioners for the Melbourne Exhibition, 

 from the Sandhurst School of Mines ; a collection of 

 named casts of fossils, &c. presented by Professor Ward, 

 of Rochester, United States ; a collection of bird skins 

 from Singapore, the gift of His Excellency Sir F. A. Weld, 

 K.C.M.G. ; a collection of British birds' eggs, from 

 Mr. W. R. Stephens; 2 carved masks, worn by the 

 natives of New Ireland in their dances, from the Rev. 

 George Brown ; a specimen of that peculiar fish, the 

 Ceratodus Forsteri, from the Burnett River, Queensland, 

 from Mr. R. B. Sheridan, &c. The task of re-naming 

 and cataloguing the collection of birds, comprising several 

 hundred specimens, has been undertaken by Mr. E. D. 

 Swan, who has made considerable progress with the work. 

 The mounted specimens, also, are being thoroughly cleaned 

 and re-arranged under Mr. Swan's supervision ; and the 

 best thanks of the Society are due to that gentleman for 

 his unremitting attention to this important matter. A few 



