REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK IX 



Walsh, of Jarrow, who very kindly devoted much of his spare 

 time to it during the winter. This reference collection, which 

 is being formed by combining three private collections — those 

 of the late T. J. Bold, and of Mr. John Gardner and Mr. 

 R. S. Bagnall — will be one of the best in existence when it 

 is completed. 



(c) Whale's skeleton. We obtained the tools and the iron- 

 work necessary for mounting this large skeleton, and had 

 begun drilling the bones, but, as already stated, we then had 

 to defer the mounting to some later time. 



(d) Skeleton of lion. In April the body of a jfine male lion 

 was sent to the Museum by the proprietors of Bostock and 

 Wombwell's menagerie. To our own disappointment and 

 that of the donors, we found that the skin was useless for 

 mounting : the disease of which the animal had died had 

 apparently loosened the hair. We are therefore preparing the 

 skeleton, and this will be a valuable addition to our limited 

 osteological series. 



(e) Dr. Eltringhani s butterflies. These constitute un- 

 doubtedly the most important acquisition made to the Museum 

 in recent years. The collection includes about 6,000 speci- 

 mens, practically all in fine condition, and contained in four 

 cabinets, of which two are very large and of the best make. 

 The butterflies of all tropical and sub-tropical parts of the 

 world are well represented ; many rarities are also included, 

 and as Dr. Eltringham has made a special study of mimicry 

 (he is the author of an exhaustive monograph, recently 

 published, on "Mimicry in African Butterflies") his collection 

 is particularly rich in examples of this remarkable phenomenon . 

 Dr. Eltringham is now working on the vast collections in the 

 Hope Department of the Oxford University Museum. He 

 consequently has little use for a collection of his own, and he 

 generously offered it to the Natural History Society at a price 

 which scarcely represented the value of the cabinets. After it 

 had become the property of the Museum we were indebted to 

 Dr. Eltringham for a further great kindness. He planned out 



