ACCOUNTS, &C. OF BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Museum in the course of that year. It is now sufficient to mention, that by it, many defi- 

 ciencies will be supplied, which could be filled up, if at all, only at a very heavy expense, 

 and in the course of time, as opportunities might present themselves. 



IV. Binding. — The number of volumes bound is 10,111 in 7,309, including 1,4G2 Pam- 

 phlets. That of volumes repaired is 278, besides 88 Maps mounted. 



V. Reading Room Services. — 1. The number of books returned to the shelves of the 

 General Library from the Reading Rooms is 115,414 ; to those of the King's Libraiy, 12,199 ; 

 to the closets, in which books are kept for the use of the readers from day to day, 86,761 ; 

 together, 214,374, or 731 per diem. Adding to this number that of the volumes returned 

 to the shelves of the Reading Rooms, about 114,000 volumes, the whole amounts to 

 328,374 volumes consulted in the course of the year, or about 1,120 volumes a day. 



2. The number of readers has been 66,722, on an average 238 per day, the Readino- 

 Rooms having been kept open 293 days ; each reader, therefore, has consulted, on an 

 average, about five volumes daily. 



Department of Natural History. 

 Mineralogical Branch. 



The arrangement of the Collections in this branch of the Department has been regularly 

 proceeded with. 



The whole of the acquisitions made in the year 1846 have been added to the General 

 Register, together with a considerable number of Specimens from Miss Baker's and Dr. 

 Mantell's Collections, so that the total number of entries made in the year amounts to 

 upwards of 4,000. An Index to the nine volumes of the General Register is in a state of 

 forwardness. 



Preparations have also been made for the compilation of Catalogues of distinct portions 

 of the Collections. 



Among the more interesting acquisitions to the several Collections in the course of the 

 year may be specified the Meteorites (both Iron and Stones), from 13 distinct localities, 

 several of them of considerable magnitude, such as the lai'ger masses of Iron from Alabama, 

 Tennessee, Brazil and Mexico, and that from'Agramin Croatia, fallen the 26th of May 1751, 

 (perhaps the only specimen of Meteoric Iron of which the day of descent is known with cer- 

 tainty) ; also the very rare Meteoric Stones of Charkow, Wiburg, Maurkirchen in Bavaria, 

 etc. ; together with many other valuable, newly discovered, or otherwise interesting mineral 

 substances, obtained partly by purchase, both in this country and abroad, and partly as 

 presents from the Marquess of Northampton, Earl Cawdor, Sir Robert Inglis, and 

 T. Weaver, Esq., etc. 



The General Collection with which all these additions have been incorporated has under- 

 gone re-arrangement in some parts, rendered necessary by several alterations made in the 

 placing of the glass cases in the different rooms. 



To the collection of Fossil Plants some valuable objects have been added, such as the 

 Stigmaria ficoides, originally eight yards long, which was found crossing in a horizontal 

 direction the roof of a coal-pit near Nottingham, belonging to His Grace the Duke of Rut- 

 land, by whom it was presented to the Museum. 



The cases containing the Fossil Reptiles being quite filled, only specimens of compara- 

 tively small sizes have been added, among which are some Saurian remains from Dor- 

 setshire, and the head of a species of Teleosaurus from Sheppey. 



The systematic arrangement of the extensive collection of Fossil Fishes has been dili- 

 gently continued since the last Annual Report, and almost all the specimens have been 

 determined and named ; in doing which the plan of distinguishing by differently tinted 

 labels the different Geological formations in which the species respectively occur, has been 

 adopted with advantage to the student of this branch of Palaeontology. Among the nume- 

 rous additions to it during the past year may be particularized the unique specimen, figured 

 by Agassiz, of Cephalaspis Lyellii, from the Old Red Sandstone of Glammis, Forfarshire, 

 presented by C. Lyell, Esq ; the splendid original (of which a cast only existed in the col- 

 lection) of Lepidotus Fittoni, from the Wealden of Sussex, presented by W.J. Martin, Esq. ; 

 and various remarkable species from Tertiary formations, such as the Gregarious Lebias 

 cephalotus from Aix, in Provence, presented by S. P. Pratt, Esq. ; and various species, 

 before desiderata in the Collection, particularly from the Lias of Wiirtemberg (among which 

 is a gigantic specimen of an apparently new species of Sauropsis, from Boll), have been 

 acquired by purchase. 



The collection of Mammalian remains has been enriched by an almost perfect skeleton of 

 the Halitherium of Dr. Kaup, purchased from that gentleman. It is highly interesting, not 

 only on account of its appertaining to a group of animals of which fossil remains are very 

 rare, but likewisefrom its presenting characters which link the aquatic Pachydermata with the 

 terrestrial species of that order more closely than do the recent species known to us. The 

 fine Elephant Skull presented by Captain Baker, of the Bengal Artillery, and which has 

 been described and figured by Dr. Falconer, under the name of Elephas Ganesa, is now 

 (after a very skilfully executed restoration of a portion of its left side) properly mounted,, 

 and forms one of the most interesting objects among the stupendous osseous remains depo- 

 sited in Room VI. Numerous remains of two species of Rhinoceros, of Ruminants, and 



other 



