ACCOUNTS, kc, OF THE Ei-.ITISK MUSEUM. 



31 



Hippidea," an "Account of a Collection of Drcfipoda and Isojjoda, chiefly from South 

 America, with descriptions of the new ^enera and species," are the principal papers pre- 

 pared and published by Mr. E. Miers during the progress of his arrangement of this part 

 of the Collection. 



The time of the Entomologists of the Department has been occupied in determining 

 and arranging the accessions, and in describing such of the forms as proved to be new to 

 science. These latter amount to 822 in number, the descriptions having been prepared 

 by Messrs. F. Smith, A. G. Butler, and C. O. Waterhouse, and published in a series of 

 papers in various journals. The systematic arrangement of the Coleopterous family of 

 Lycida and of the Australian representatives of the genus Mordella, as well as of the 

 Lepidojiterous families Limucodida, DrepanulidcE, SaturniidcE, and NycteolidcB, has been 

 completed. 



The collection of Echini has been re-arranged. 



The work of determining and re-arranging the collection of Corals has been interrupted 

 by the premature death of Dr. Briiggemann, the gentleman who had been entrusted with 

 this task. 



The general arrangement of the Bowerbankian Collection of Sponges has been com- 

 pleted, and the special examination of the British series commenced. The large collection 

 of microscopic preparations received with it has been arranged, labelled, and registered. 



II. — Catahguing. 



The following Catalogues have been printed during the year 1878 : — 



" Catalogue of the Chiroptera." By G. E. Dobson, 8vo. (pp. 567, with 30 plates). 



" Illustrations of typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera." Part II. By A. G. 

 Butler, 4to. (pp. 62, with 20 coloured plates). 



The fourth volume of the " Catalogue of Birds," and the third part of the " Illustra- 

 tions of Lepidoptera Heterocera," are in the press; and the fifth and sixth volumes of 

 the " Catalogue of Birds " in the course of preparation. 



III. — Conservation. 



Of the acquisitions of Vertebrate Animals, only examples of large size, or such as will 

 contribute to the instruction of the general public, have been mounted ; some have been 

 stowed away, for want of space, and are reserved for exhibition in the galleries of the 

 new building; others are exhibited in the present galleries, though not always at the 

 proper place which they would occupy if space j^ermitted of a strictly systematic disposi- 

 tion of the specimens. Among tlie specimens prepared for exhibition may be mentioned : — 

 a Snow Leopard (i^e/<5 z'/'izs), from Siberia; a Hunting Leopard or Cheetah, from India 

 {Felisjiibata) ; a Grizzly Hear {Ursiisfei ox), from the Hocky Mountains; a Sj^ectacled 

 Bear [Helarctos orjiatus), from Columbia; Male, female, and young of the Fur Seal 

 {Arctocephalus ursinus), from Pribelow Island ; two Antelopes ( Tragelaphus scriptus and 

 Euryceros euryceros), from West Africa; a Wild Sheep from Siberia {Ovis amnion); two 

 groups of Birds, consisting of male, female, young, and nest of the Skylark, and of the 

 Great Crested Grebe ; a group of specimens of a race of the Domestic Fowl from the 

 Fiji Islands, which had reverted to its wild state ; a large specimen of the Greenland 

 Shark from the east cOast of Scotland (Lcsmargus borealis); skeletons of a male and 

 female Chamois; a skeleton of a large Leathery Turtle (^Sphargis coriacea), from the 

 Atlantic, etc. 



All the other Vertebrate Animals acquired during the year, and preserved as skins or 

 skeletons, or in spirits, have been placed in the reserve rooms, being not the less acces- 

 sible to the student. 



The specimens of Feline Mammals have been thoroughly cleaned, and many badly 

 stuffed specimens have been either re-mounted 01 prepared as skins for the study series. 



The M'ork of renewing the spirit in the bottles containing Fishes, Reptiles, Crustaceans 

 and Echinoderms, and of securing the safety of typical specimens, as described in last 

 year's Report, has been continued. 



The accessions to the collection of Shells have been mounted in glass-top boxes and 

 labelled; also all the specimens of Insects, received during the year in a dry state, 

 have been mounted and labelled ; and many of such as had been imperfectly mounted 

 have been re-set. 



IV. — Registration. 



All the specimens acquired during the past year have been marked with the date of 

 their acquisition, and a separate number corresponding to an entry in the manuscript 

 register of accessions, in which, for future reference, the name of the collector, the exact 

 locality in which the specimens were collected, the mode of their acquisition, and any 

 other valuable information regarding them, are entered. 



l-(). D 4 V. Acquisitions. 



