BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) 



19 



In the Department of Botany advice was given to the Admiralty on 

 ths subject of a seaweed which was causing a nuisance in the harbour of 

 Gibraltar. 



Libraries. 



In the General Library a further transference of books was made from 

 the main gallery to the iron gallery and the basement, only those volumes 

 of periodicals dated since 1912 being now available in the main gallery and 

 in the Central Hall bay outside the General Library door. 



During the year 140 books, 1,156 volumes of periodicals, and 51 maps 

 were acquired by purchase and presentation, and of the periodicals, 81 

 were new to the Library. The cataloguing of accessions for the whole 

 Museum was carried out in the General Library, 1,713 books and 65 

 maps being dealt with during 1936. 

 Among the gifts received were : — 



From the National Institute of Sciences of India, Calcutta : a complete 

 set of the Institute's publication. 



From the Royal Geographical Society Amsterdam : Scientific Results 

 of the Snelhus Expedition, 1929-30. 



From the University of Calcutta : ten volumes of the Journal of the 

 Department of Science, University of Calcutta, 1919-33. 



From the Scott Polar Institute, Cambridge : The Polar Record, 

 Nos. 1-11, 1931-36. 



From Mr. H. N. Ridley, C.M.G., F.R.S. : twelve volumes of old and rare 

 books (1797-1840) on mineralogy and geology. 



From Dr. R. S. Bassler : a copj^ of " The North American Crinoidea 

 Camerata," by C. Wachsmith and F. Springer (1897). 



From Professor B. Nemec : a valuable facsimile copy of Matthiola's 

 Herbal in Czech. 



Fifty-eight volumes of Chilean periodicals and 42 separate scientific 

 works were obtained for the Museum Library through the efforts of 

 Mr. V. F. W. Cavendish- Ben tinck, of the British Embassy at Santiago de 

 Chile, as gifts from the institutions publishing them. These books were 

 especially valuable, since extreme difficulty has for many years been 

 experienced in obtaining Chilean pubhcations. 



Additions to the Collections. 



The number of acquisitions in the several Departments during the year 

 apart from specimens received too late for incorporation and from books, 

 was as foUows : — 



Department. 



Purchases. 



Donations, 

 etc. 



Total. 



Zoology 



Entomology 



Geology 



Mineralogy 



Botany 



2,541 

 20,325 



8,989 

 401 



21,820 



68,987 



203,521 



29,842 



1,617 



26,929 



71,528 



223,846 



38,831 



2,018 



48,749 



Totals 



54,076 



330,896 



384,972 



