OF THE NATURAL HISTOEY SOCIETY, 529 



necessitated the omission of one meeting, and your Committee 

 anticipate that some change in the arrangements will be required 

 at no distant date. 



The most important among the recent donations to the Mu- 

 seum have been the late Mr. Loftus' collections of fossils, pre- 

 sented by Sir W. G. Armstrong; — a skeleton of Bottle-nose 

 Whale, from Messrs. Kogerson and Plumpton ; — skeleton of 

 Great Northern Rorqual, Mr. S. Langdale ; — cast of Skull of 

 Physeter bidens, from Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. ; — ^fasciculus of 

 British Willows, from the Rev. J. E. Leefe ; — a series of Speci- 

 mens of Eozdou Canadense, Mr. H. B. Brady. 



Your Committee would here impress upon members and the 

 public the valuable aid which may still be given in respect to 

 the increase of the collections. To take a single instance ; 

 many varieties of common British birds are still unrepresented 

 in the Museum, though one often hears of their being obtained 

 in our more or less immediate neighbourhood. Assistance in 

 obtaining desiderata occurring in this way, either by presenta- 

 tion or purchase, is much required. 



Through the kind assistance of Joseph Duff, Esq., of Etherley, 

 a very valuable collection of fossils has been acquired from Mid- 

 deridge Quarry, at the almost nominal cost of £10. Among the 

 specimens, some of which are unique, are — Reptiles : Prolosmi- 

 rus sinneri, new to England ; and Protosaurus Huccleyi, a new 

 species. Amphibians : Le^ndotosaurus Duffii, the representative 

 of a new genus from the Magnesian Limestone. Fishes : Ja- 

 nassa bituminosa, Schloth. ; and Acrolepis cxsculptus, Gumar, 

 the latter new to the Marl- Slate of England ; numerous speci- 

 mens of the genera Pygopterus, Palcconisciis, Platysomii^, Ccvla- 

 cantlius, and many interesting plant remains. No other very 

 important acquisitions have been made by purchase. 



In the Vertebrate collections the British Mammals have been 

 arranged in the south gallery, by Mr. John Hancock. Several 

 species and varieties are wanting, which youi' Committee hope 

 may be soon supplied. Mr. Hancock has also brought together, 

 as a classical collection, the British Birds figured by Bewick, 

 with the exception of the Rcd-brcastcd Goose and the Little 



