DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY. 107 



The skeletons of the remaining Coraciiformes, viz., the 

 Hornbills, Toucans, and Woodpeclcers, have been labelled, 

 catalogued, and placed in cabinets, also those of the Menuridte 

 and Eurylsemidse. 



Re^tilia, Batrachia, and Pisces. — The overcrowded state 

 of the spirit building still continues. Owing to the insuffi- 

 cient supply of spirit, the work of replenishing the bottles 

 has been abandoned, and from this cause, added to the want 

 of bottles, it has been found impossible to incorporate a large 

 proportion of the accessions. In consequence, several large 

 collections, received during this and the preceding year, have 

 been temporarily placed in tanks or other large receptacles, 

 and are thus not readily available for scientific purposes. 

 The collection is suffering seriously from want of space and 

 of the necessary supplies for its efficient preservation. 



Mollusca. — The exhibited collections of the Tritons and 

 Ranellas, the Bulimoid land shells, and the species of 

 Mytilidoi have been re-arranged in accordance with the most 

 recent monographs. The separate collections of shells from 

 Aden and South Africa have been re-arranged in the drawers. 

 A large collection of marine shells from Port Alfred, South 

 Africa, has been worked out, and a very important collection 

 of deep-sea Mollusca from the Indian Ocean, obtained by the 

 Indian Marine Survey steamer '•' Investigator," has been 

 reported upon. A large collection of marine shells from 

 Zanzibar has been named, and a selection mounted and in- 

 corporated. In addition to the numerous acquisitions which 

 have been registered, mounted, and arranged in the general 

 collection, the whole of the Helicoid land shells from India, 

 China, Japan, the Dutch East Indies, and Australia have been 

 mounted in glass-topped boxes. 



Arachnida and Myriopoda. — For the first eight months 

 of the year there was no assistant in charge of this part of 

 the collections, so that no work has been done beyond the 

 sorting and registering of accessions and the refilling of the 

 bottles containing the spirit specimens. Lack of space in 

 the spirit building prevents the incorporation of several 

 important collections received in this and former years. 

 Mr. C. J. With, of Copenhagen, has worked through a part of 

 the collection of Chelonethi, and has published a report on 

 them. 



Insecta. — Typical series of Orthoptera of the families 

 Gryllidce, Phasgonuridce, and Locustidoi have been pre- 

 pared and placed in the Insect Gallery, accompanied by 

 descriptive labels and explanatory illustrations. Similar 

 series, illustrating the Mcdlophaga (Bird-lice) and PulicidcB 

 (Fleas) have also been prepared and exhibited. The Butter- 

 flies formerly displayed in the table-cases have been trans- 

 ferred to cabinets at the side of the Gallery. 



