tion at the British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington, writes 

 lows : — 



" There is no doubt that the representation of an Indian Mammal Fauna 

 in the National Museum has fallen behind that of other parts of the 

 world and is very far short of what it should be. In my opinion the 

 employment of a professional collector is the only way of making up 

 lost ground and forming collections." 



Mr. R. C. Wroughton, also ot the Mammal Department at the National 

 im, gives the following instances to illustrate this deficiency : — 



Jackals.— There are only 5 specimens, vis., a pair from Mussoorie, a pair from Ceylon and a 

 single specimen labelled " India." 



Mouse-Deer.— There are in all 2 specimens collected by Col. Sykes near Poona more than 



30 years ago and a still older pair from Ceylon. 

 Muntjac or Bekri are only represented in the collection by 4 of Hodgsons' Nepal specimens 



(collected about 1830) and an immature one from the Shan States. 

 Rodents. — Of the true Bandicoots there is only 1 specimen representing the whole Bombay 



Presidency and that was presented by the Bombay Natural History Society within the last 



3 or 4 years. Those representing the rest of India, quite few in number, are almost all 40 



or 50 years old. 



Shrews. — About 30 specimens from less than a dozen localities represent the musk-rats, and 



nearly half these have been received quite recently. 

 Cats, Foxes, Bats, etc., are as badly represented. 



The funds available to the British Museum authorities for purchasing specimens are small in 

 amount and have to be devoted to buying specimens from foreign countries. They cannot 

 be used for employing collectors. Magnificent results have followed from the private 

 assistance received from the Duke of Bedford in employing a collector in China and Japan, 

 Mr. C. D. Rudd in S. Africa, Sir Wm. Ingram and Mr. W. E. Balston in Australia, and' 

 they have quite revolutionised our knowledge of the mammals of these countries. 



30 much to expect the same to be done for India, Burma and Ceylon ? 



Yours faithfully, 

 3LL0 Street, Bombay, W. S. Millard, 



th December igio. Honorary Secretary* 



Date, 191 1, 



The Honorary Secretary, 



BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



/ have, the pleasure to enclose a cheque for Bs. ~ 



f 'S the special appeal for funds to enable our Society to make a collec- 



e Indian Mammals. 



Yours faithfully , 



