24 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



view, dried and stuffed, in the glazed cabinets of the public gallery. Both these and the 

 larger number of similarly preserved specimens arranged in drawers are in good condition. 

 A great proportion of the class is preserved in spirit, in a state fit for study and com- 

 parison, in the basement storerooms. 



The portion of the class Echinodermuta exhibited in a dried state and displayed in syste- 

 matic arrangement in the glazed cabinets, as well as the dried specimens stored in drawers 

 and boxes, are in a good state of preservation. The Holotliiirice (trepang) and allied forms, 

 stored and kept in alcohol, are in a state of preservation. 



The corals and hard parts of zoophytes, including the framewprk of sponges, Hyalonema, 

 Euplectella, &c., which now occupy detached glazed cases in the Mammalian and Avian 

 Gallei'ies, are in a good state of preservation. The major part of the Rudiata are well 

 preserved, excluded from the light, in drawers, and accessible for study and compa- 

 rison. 



The great bulk of the collection of Osteological specimens, stored in the basement-vaults, 

 is in a state of preservation. Specimens, including the entire framework of the animal, are 

 in a state fit for future articulation and exhibition in an Osteological gallery. Meanwhile, 

 space has been made for the exhibition of the skeletons of two varieties of the Giraffe, of a 

 Hippopotamus, and of a Cape Buffalo, in the present Mammalian Gallery. 



The exhibited series of Nests and Nidn mental structures, of Eggs, of Horns, and 

 Antlers, are severally in a good state of preservation. 



The specimens in the gallery appropriated to the Zoology of Great Britain and Ireland 

 attract many student-visitors and collectors. 



The specimens of Geology and Fossil Remains, both exhibited and in store, are in a good 

 state of preservation. 



The exhibited specimens are systematically arranged to the extent of space thereto 

 applicable ; they are instructively labelled, and for the most part of easy access for 

 scientific examination and comparison. 



The Rock specimens and Fossils stored in drawers, or in wall-cases of rooms or recesses 

 not accessible to the public, are well arranged for study by scientific visitors. The 

 Catalogue of the Fossil Reptiles of South Africa has been published. 



The series of Mineralogy is in its usual good state of preservation, display, and instruc- 

 tive arrangement. 



Finally, the Departments are encouraged, by the success of the preliminary work under- 

 taken for their benefit through instructions, recommendations, and correspondences in con- 

 nection with such public labours and duties in distant regions as those of the " Boundary 

 Commissioners " in North America, the " Transit of Venus Expeditions," the " Stations 

 of the Royal Navy " in remote seas, the newly-established " Colonial Museums " at the 

 Cape of Good Hope, the Provinces of Australia and of New Zealand, to persevere in these 

 initial steps for the acquisition of rare specimens. Through such steps the Departments 

 have profited also by private energy and enterprise in exploratory journeys, as, e.g., in the 

 Cilician Taurus, Mount Ararat, Lake Baikal, Borneo, Malacca, the Philippine Islands, 

 New Guinea, the Feejee Islands, and Japan. 



The most notable additions received from these localities are specified in the respective 

 Departmental Reports. 



Richard Owen. 



Department of Zoology. 

 I. — Arrangement. 



The work of re-arranging the Collection of INIammalla has been temporarily sus- 

 pended in consequence of architectural alterations, which have necessitated the removal 

 of a part of the specimens from the central saloon into other already overcrowded 

 galleries. The arrangement of the Cliiroptera alone has been proceeded with, and is 

 nearly completed. 



The examination and re-arrangement of the Birds of the Crow tribe has been com- 

 pleted, and that of the Passerine Birds commenced. 



Further valuable additions to the series of gigantic Land Tortoises and their osseous 

 remains have been received, systematically arranged, and described. The work of 

 describing numerous accessions to the Collection of Snakes received during the last three 

 years has been commenced. The additions to the Collection of Lizards and Fishes have 

 been entered into the printed Catalogues. 



The systematic list of all the species of Fishes described since the publication of the 

 " Catalogue of Fishes " has proceeded as far as the second volume. 



Another portion of the extensive Collection of Shells bequeathed by the late Rev. 

 R. T. Lowe, as well as other numerous accessions to this branch of the Department, to be 

 mentioned hereafter, have been incorporated with the General Collection. The 

 determination and arrangement of the Nudibranchous Mollusks has been completed. 



Particular attention has been paid to the arrangement of the Collection of Crusta- 

 ceans ; the manuscript List of the Crustacea Brachyura has made considerable progress, 



all 



