50 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



The Museum is assisting in the distribution, through its 

 correspondents abroad, o£ propagandist literature presenting the 

 cause o£ the Allies. In many cases thesfe correspondents have shown 

 their interest and keenness to help by asking to be supplied with 

 additional copies o£ the pamphlets, &c. 



British and Russian Men of Science. 



A correspondence has passed between the Museum, the Foreign 

 Office, and the Board of Education with reference to the desirability 

 of a closer intercourse between British and Russian men of science. 



The Museum represented that one of the chief difficulties in 

 the past that has stood in the way of closer co-operation had been 

 the language, and it was- suggested that much might be done to 

 facilitate closer intercourse by the publication in English and 

 French of scientific papers by Russian workers. It was also 

 stated that the Museum would always be ready to encourage 

 exchange of specimens with Russian institutions. 



Royal Society Committee on Grain Pests. 



Accommodation at the Museum has been placed at the disposal 

 of the Committee formed by the Royal Society to inquire into the 

 bionomics and economics of grain-infesting insect pests, and 

 Mr. J. Hartley Durrant, a member of the staff of the Entomo- 

 logical Department, has been appointed to serve on the Committee. 



Stranded Whales. 



The interest of the records of Cetacea stranded on the British 

 coasts has by no means fallen off during the past year. Altogether 

 29 records were received (one more than in 1915), the most 

 interesting being a Cuvier's Whale, believed to be the first specimen 

 of this species recorded from the English coast ; a Sowerby's 

 Whale ; a White-sided Dolphin ; a young Sperm Whale ; and a 

 Killer, or Grampus, of exceptional size. Parts of most of the 

 specimens were secured for the Museum. Valuable help in this 

 inquiry has again been given by Receivers of Wreck, Coastguard 

 Officers, and others ; and the thanks of the Trustees are due also to 

 the Board of Trade for continuing the arrangements which have 

 made it possible to carry on the work. 



Antarctic Whales. 



Considerable attention continues to be given to the investigation 

 of whales in the Antarctic. A number of papers and statistics 

 relating to the subject, and especially to whaling operations in 

 South Georgia, have been referred to the Museum by the Colonial 

 Office. In this connection Dr. Harmer has drawn attention to the 

 large increase in the number of Blue Whales captured in the season 

 1914-15 as compared with previous seasons, and to a corresponding 

 diminution in the number of Humpbacks caught by the whalers — a 



