ACCOUNTS, Sec, OF THE DRITISH MUSEUM. 



Caf.alof/ues : — 



The Catalogue of Oriental Coins, Arab Section, Vol. II., has been published, and 

 Vol. III. is in the press. 



The Catalogue of Greek Coins, Vol. IT. (Sicily), has been published, and Vol. III. 

 (Tauric Chersonese and Thrace) is in the press. 



The fourth, fifth, and sixth volumes of the Catalogue of Greek Coins are in pi-ogress. 



The number of visitors to the Coin Room in 1876 was 1,375. 

 The number of visitors to the Gold Ornament Koom was 14,632. 



Reginald Stuart PocL\ 



Departments of Natural History. 



The additions to the Departments of Natural History in the year 1876 are 31,868 in 

 number; of which 24,685 have been registered in the Department of Zoology, 5,531 in 

 that of Geology, and 1,652 in that of Mineralogy. 



The state of preservation and general good condition of the specimens in these depart- 

 ments has been maintained. 



The stuffed and mounted specimens of the class Mammalia, which, from their large 

 size, and from the limits of glazed wall-space, stand on the floor or are suspended above 

 the cases, have continued to receive the care and treatment necessary to prevent or dimi- 

 nish the effects of such exposure ; the few found requisite to be removed have been 

 replaced by other specimens, and room has been made, where possible, for additional 

 ones — of which may be noted a series of the wild goats of Asia Minor, and of lemurs 

 from Madagascar. 



The unstufFed skins of the Mammalia are in a good state of preservation, applicable to 

 the purposes of scientific examination and comparison, and many of them retain the con- 

 ditions suitable for future mounting and exhibition. When possible, without affecting 

 those conditions, instructive additions to the Osteologlcal Series have been extracted from 

 certain of these store-specimens. 



The stuffed and mounted skins of the class Aves ai-e in a state of preservation. Due 

 care has been bestowed on the now very extensive collection of unstuffed skins of birds 

 preserved in drawers and boxes ; they are in a good state of preservation, available for 

 the purposes of study and comparison, and have contributed to the instructlveness and 

 completeness of the Lists and Catalogues of Species, and of Varieties of Age, Sex, and 

 Colour, as well as to some valuable Monographs of limited groups of the class. 



The proportion of the collection of the Reptilia, stuffed, mounted, and exhibited, is in 

 a good state of preservation. Most of these specimens occupy glazed wall-cases. The 

 larger specimens suspended above the cases have received the same attention as the ex- 

 pose;! stuffed specimens of the larger Mammalia. 



The proportion of the class Puces, similarly prepared, or preserved in spirits, and dis- 

 played in systematic order in the glazed cabinets of the gallery, necessarily continues, 

 under present conditions of exhibition-space, to be small. These specimens are in good 

 condition and their instructlveness has governed the tyj^Ical selection of the arranged 

 specimens. 



The greater proportion of the class available in the advancement of Ichthyology, pre- 

 served in spirits and stored in the basement-vaults, is in good condition. 



Of the series of shells of the Mollusca, a large proportion is arranged and exhibited in 

 the floor-cases of the Public Gallery. By their good condition, systematic arrangement, 

 and attached labels of names and localities, these exhibited shells greatly aid in the com- 

 parison of specimens, the study of Conchology, and its application to Palasontology. 



The unexhibited shells, preserved in the drawers of the cabinets, are in a state of 

 perfect preservation, and are available, like those exhibited, to scientific visitors and 

 students. 



The animal-constructors of the shells, and the shell-less Mollusca, are chiefly represented 

 in the exhibited series by coloured models. The specimens themselves are preserved in 

 spirits and stored in the basement-vaults, where they have received continuous care, by 

 change and renewal of the spirit, so as to maintain the state of preservation fit for applica- 

 tions of anatomical research needful for determining the affinities of their shells, and for 

 comparison with the fossil casts of the interior of the shells of extinct species. 



The small portion of the class Inxecta publicly displayed is in a state of preservation. 

 The large portion of the class in the cabinets of the Entomological Room is in a good state 

 of preservation, especially as to colour, through exclusion of light, and its applicability to 

 pui-poses of comparison and study is attested by the number of visitors admitted for such 

 work. 



The portion of the class Crustacea exhibited and systematically arranged, and the 

 larger portion stored in drawers, are in a good state of preservation ; these have undergope 

 taxidermal processes for conservation in the dried state. The proportion of the class pre- 

 served in spirits is in a good state of preservation, and has been arranged for facility of 

 access and reference. 



Of the class Arachnida, a few of the larger kinds of scorpions and «piders are exposed to 



lti6. c 4 view. 



