605 



as during former years. Weald clay and Purbeck not arranged. 

 Oolite and lias, specimens labeled but not arranged. The arrange- 

 ment of the new red sandstone, mountain limestone, and old red 

 sandstone, has been stopped until the publication of Mr. Murchison's 

 work. The formations below the old red sandstone are placed 

 in geographical order, until our knowledge of their relations be 

 more complete. The traps and granites are grouped by themselves. 

 The specimens from Scotland are arranged on the same principle 

 with those from England ; but the fossils are comparatively few in 

 number. The arrangement of the Irish collection is geographical. 

 The same principle has been followed in the whole foreign collection, 

 with the exception of a part belonging to the best known formations 

 of France. With respect to the foreign collection, your committee 

 beg to observe, that two of its members having occasion during the 

 last year to consult certain portions of it from distant quarters of 

 the world, namely the Himalaya and the Andes, found the present 

 arrangement the best for their purpose. At p. 461 of the Proceed- 

 ings a list of the number of drawers, appropriated to specimens 

 from different countries, is given, and therefore it is thought unne- 

 cessary here to repeat it. 



In the cellars there is a considerable number of boxes containing 

 specimens not yet arranged ; and the collection of duplicates is enor- 

 mous. 



After these remarks it may be observed, that the first principle of 

 arrangement in the collection has been geographical ; and that, where 

 there existed sufficient data, this has been followed up by a strati- 

 graphical classification. In the latter case, the upper drawers con- 

 tain the rocks ; the next any accompanying minerals, and the lower 

 ones the organic bodies, — beginning with those of the simplest 

 structure, and so proceeding to the higher orders. With respect to 

 catalogues ; separate ones have been made by Mr. Lonsdale, of the 

 fossils of some of the English formations. Your committee would 

 suggest the advantage (when time permits) of forming an index of 

 the fossil shells, either according to a natural system, or alpha- 

 betically, so that any person might know in which drawer a given 

 species could be found, without having to search the catalogues of 

 the separate formations. And likewise they would suggest, that a 

 brief geographical catalogue of the whole collection should be made, 

 with references to letters pasted on the different cases, so that every 

 member might at once know what specimens were in the collection 

 from any locality. Even the brief list given at p. 461, and before 

 alluded to, with references to the drawers, would, in the opinion of 

 your committee, be extremely useful, and would require very little 

 time. 



The mineralogical collection is in the same state as during the 

 previous year. It would, perhaps, be advantageous if attention 

 were called to this collection by a title inscribed over it, instead of 

 over the door of the Library. 



With respect to the Library your committee report, that a cata- 

 logue has been made by Mr. Humphreys of every book and of the 



3 d2 



