84 accounts, etc., of the british museum. 



Central Hall. 



A new case has been added to those placed in the body of the 

 hall illustrating general principles in Natural History. It con- 

 tains a beautiful group of ptarmigan, willow grouse, mountain 

 or variable hare, ermine, and weasel, from Norway in their 

 winter dress, showing the adaptation of their colour at that 

 season to that of the snow with which the ground is covered. 

 A group of the same species of animals from the same locality 

 in summer, arranged amid their natural surroundings, is in 

 course of preparation. For these attractive and instructive 

 specimens the Museum is indebted to the cordial aid of 

 Dr. R. Collett, of Christiania. Numerous additions have been 

 made to the morphological series arranged in the alcoves 

 round the hall. 



General Library. 



The additions to the General Library during the past year 

 have been :— 



By purchase _ - - 403 volumes. 



By donation _ _ _ 203 volumes and 40 maps. 



By transference from other 



Departments - - - 6 volumes and 8 maps. 



Total - - 612 volumes and 48 maps. 



All these works have been catalogued, press-marked, 

 stamped, and placed on the shelves. 



The extent of this collection on the 31st of December was 

 21,236 volumes and 3,617 maps. 



The revision of the Catalogues of Books in the Depart- 

 mental Libraries has been continued during the year, with 

 the following results : — 



9,445 title-slips have been revised for the Botanical 

 Library, 

 669 for the Geological Library, 

 655 for the Mineralogical Library, and 

 15 for the Zoological Library. 



10,784 - - Total. 



The work in the General Library, and in the Libraries of 

 the Geological and Mineralogical Departments, has been 

 brought up to date, whilst the cataloguing of the books in 

 the Botanical Library has been very nearly completed, so 

 that, in the coming year, attention will be principally directed 

 to the remaining Departmental Library, that of the 

 Zoological Department. 



W. H. Flower. 



