4 Annual Report. 



more fully the scientific portion of his duties. Your senior 

 curator, Mr. William Darragh, owing to his advanced age, is in 

 feeble health, and your Council, in consideration of his faithful 

 services for so many years, have arranged, subject to your 

 approval, to grant him a retiring allowance of ^48 per annum, 

 with the condition that Mr. Darragh shall vacate the house. 

 A special meeting, convened according to the rules, will be held 

 immediately after this meeting for the purpose of deciding on 

 this proposal. 



'• The Ulster Fauna Committee, which was referred to in last 

 report as having been recently appointed ' to supplement the 

 work so ably prosecuted by the late William Thompson,' has 

 been actively engaged, through its joint Secretaries, Messrs. 

 Robert Patterson and R. Lloyd Praeger, B.E., M.R.I.A., in 

 collecting and tabulating the information available for the 

 purpose from the numerous observers now in correspondence 

 with them throughout Ulster, a report of which is hereto ap- 

 pended. A list of the donations to the Museum and of publica- 

 tions received from home and foreign Societies with which we 

 are in correspondence will be printed with the present Report. 

 Amongst the donations may be specially mentioned a large 

 collection of South African bird skins, comprising many rare 

 specimens, presented by Mr. George Gordon, Strandtown, and 

 some fine Burmese objects, the gift of Captain J. Gillman. In 

 this connection the Council would desire to give their best 

 thanks to the local Press for their admirable reports of the 

 Society's proceedings." 



Mr. R, Lloyd Praeger, B.E., M.R.LA., submitted the 

 Report of the Secretaries of the Ulster Fauna Committee, as 

 follows : — 



" It being now a year and a half since the Ulster Fauna 

 Committee, of which Mr. Robert Patterson and myself have 

 the honour of being Secretaries, was appointed by the Council 



