254 KEPOKT OF THE COMMlTlEfi. 



Upon the application of the House Governor of the Eoyal 

 Yictoria School for the Blind for any duplicate specimens of 

 Birds, etc., for the purpose of giving lessons and the instruction 

 of the inmates of that Institution, the Committee have had the 

 pleasure of complying with this request, and have presented a 

 Email collection of duplicate Birds and two or three Quadrupeds 

 to the School for teaching purposes. 



The most important donations and additions to the Museum 

 during the past year have consisted of valuable books presented 

 to the Library or received in exchange with Foreign Societies. 

 The residuary legatees of the late John Hancock presented forty- 

 nine volumes of works, chiefly Ornithological, from the Library 

 of our late member, all of which are desirable works in a Eefer- 

 ence Library. D. 0. Drewett, Esq., of Biding Mill, presented 

 eighteen volumes of the Philosophical Transactions, dating from 

 the first volume in 1665 to 1800, together with eight quarto 

 volumes of Memoirs and twenty octavo volumes of Monographs 

 published by the Bay Society. Other works on Natural History 

 of great value have been received from the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, the Geological Survey of the States, and the Museum 

 of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, Cambridge, United 

 States of America, in exchange — altogether the additions amount 

 to about two hundred volumes and parts of volumes of Transac- 

 tions. 



The Ornithological collection has been increased by donations 

 of about twenty interesting Birds from Mr. George E. Crawhall, 

 Mr. John Duncan and others. The Society has also received 

 from the Executors of the late John Hancock several Stuffed 

 Birds, Heads of Eoe-deer and Gazelle, and Models of Ealcons 

 and Woodpeckers, which are now arranged in the Museum. 

 Admiral Henry J. Carr, formerly of Whickham, presented a 

 large collection of Ferns, collected chiefly in the southern parts of 

 South America, consisting of about 300 carefully-named species 

 of these interesting plants. 



A full list of the donations is appended at the end of this 

 Keport. 



