﻿iv 



ANNIVERSARY MEETING. 



the course of the last two years the Committee have had to examine 

 the contents of nearly 300 boxes, and have sorted about 10 tons of 

 specimens which had been suffered to accumulate downstairs, they 

 will not be charged with negligence in the task committed to them. 



The arrangement of the specimens of rocks retained in the Foreign 

 Museum is quite complete, with the exception of the cabinet con- 

 taining the series destined for mineralogical study, which has not yet 

 received the additions intended to be made to it of specimens set 

 aside for this purpose. 



In the department of European Organic Remains, the Tertiary and 

 Secondary series have been brought into very good order ; but the 

 Paleeozoic series requires examination, and will be improved by 

 having the duplicates weeded out. 



The Asiatic, Australian, African, and American collections are all 

 placed in drawers, which are nearly in the order they are finally to 

 occupy ; but these drawers contain many duplicates which should 

 be removed to leave room for future additions. 



There remain downstairs some boxes belonging to different Fel- 

 lows of the Society, and two interesting collections, the destination 

 of which has still to be considered, the one of mammalian and rep- 

 tilian bones, the other of fossil woods, both from various countries : 

 the large size of these specimens has prevented the Committee from 

 arranging them in the Foreign Museum. 



The British Collection being in excellent order, the Committee 

 suggest that such time as the Assistant Secretary may have to give 

 to the Museum be principally devoted for the present to the Foreign 

 Collection. 



Duplicates. — The Committee carefully examined the whole of the 

 mass of duplicates and unarranged specimens which were contained 

 in the crypts, and after placing in the Museum such as were required 

 there, and discarding all that were utterly valueless, set apart the 

 rest conveniently arranged for the decision of the Council. Of 

 these, the Council has already presented collections to the following 

 Institutions, viz. : — 



Museum of Practical Geology, a collection of igneous rocks ; 

 Military A cademy at Woolwich, a collection of minerals and rocks ; 

 Ecole des Mines, Paris, a large collection of British fossils; 

 To each of the Queen's Colleges, at Cork, Belfast, and Galway, a 



set of minerals ; 

 Cirencester Agricultural College, a set of minerals ; 

 The Free Kirk College at Edinburgh, a set of minerals ; 

 Ipswich Museum, a set of minerals ; 

 Mr. Robert Brown, specimens of fossil wood; 



and Dr. Fitton has received back the duplicates which remained 

 from a collection of fossils formerly presented by him, after all the 

 specimens required for the Society's collection had been placed in 

 the Museum. 



