108 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Reptilia, Batrachia, and Pisces. — By the death, early in 

 February, of John Paul, the principal attendant to this 

 section of the Department, whose intelligence and experience 

 were highly valued by his chiefs and by all visitors to the 

 Spirit Building, the work of arrangement has been seriously 

 interfered with. Most of the work that was entrusted to 

 him has had perforce to be performed by the assistant in 

 charge of the collections, who has therefore had little time 

 left, for study. Not much scientific work could be done, at 

 least during the hours of official duty. The congested con- 

 dition of the Spirit Building, to which attention was called 

 in the last report, cannot be much longer allowed to continue 

 without threatening to interfere very seriously with the 

 good order in which the collections have hitherto been 

 kept. 



The work of cleaning bottles and replenishing them has 

 been continued so far as time permitted, and further progress 

 has been made with the preparation of fish skeletons. 



Large series of Nile fish, for study and description, have 

 been received from Mr. Loat, who is engaged on the survey 

 instituted by the Egyptian Government. In connection 

 with the study of this fauna, an efi'ort has been made to 

 increase our knowledge of the fishes of the Senegal, a large 

 collection being made by the late M. P. Delhez, a selection 

 from which is now in the Museum. The large collection 

 brought home by Mr. J. E. S. Moore from the Central African 

 lakes has been worked out, but is not yet registered. Further 

 donations of fishes from the Congo and Lake Tanganyika 

 have been received from the Government of the Congo Free 

 State. The study of the fish fauna of the Congo Basin is 

 now finished, so far as material is at present available, and 

 forms the subject of a monograph, now in the press, which 

 will be published by authority of the Secretary of State of 

 the Congo Free State. 



Mollusca. — The registration, mounting, and incorporation 

 of the large number of acquisitions has occupied much of the 

 time of the staff" working at this part of the collection. The 

 series of over 5,000 land and freshwater shells, obtained by 

 Mr. Perkins in the Hawaiian Islands, has been compared with 

 the report upon them by Mr. E. E. Sykes, and the Museum 

 set selected. The land and freshwater shells of Norfolk 

 Island, the species belonging to the genera Callocardia and 

 Vesicomya, and some South African marine forms have been 

 w^orked out. A large collection of Lamellibranchs from 

 Malacca has also been named. About half the collection in 

 spirit has been respirited. A revision of the Guide to the 

 collection, and an index to the exhibited specimens and those 

 contained in the drawers, have been prepared. 



Arachnida. — In addition to the usual work involved in 

 sorting, registering, and identifying accessions, considerable 



