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



Voyage of H. M.S. " Alert," on which several members of the Department were engaged 

 during the previous year, has been completed, and fair jorogress has been made in the 

 Cataloguing of the collections of Birds and Reptiles. 



Some of the older Catalogues which have been out of print for years, require to be 

 replaced by new editions, as, with the increase of the collections and tlie advance of 

 science, the first editions have ceased to fulfil their purpose, either as guides to the collec- 

 tion or as aids in the study of the several branches of systematic Zoology. 



I. — A irangement. 



1"he additions to the collections of Vertebrate animals were entered in the printed 

 Catalogues as soon as they had been examined and named. The specimens which were 

 likely to prove objects instructive to the public were mounted and placed in the Exhibi- 

 tion galleries. 



The arrangement of the contents of the Cetacean Gallery has been completed ; and as 

 it is very difficult to obtain and preserve tlie skins of the larger kinds of Whales and 

 Dolphins, an idea of the external appearance of the animals whose skeletons are exhibited, 

 is given by illustrations copied from reliable sources. 



A large recess has been walled in in the basement, adjoining the Cetacean Graliery, in 

 which the collection of the study-series of Cetaceans has been arranged and stored. 



The final re-arrangement of the Passerine Birds in the new Cabinets keeps pace with 

 the progress of the Catalogue of Birds. 



The addition of four cabinets for the reception of Birds' eggs rendered it possible to 

 commence the much-needed re-arrangement of the oological collection. So far, all the 

 eggs of the Birds described in the fii'st five volumes of the " Catalogue," have been placed 

 upon cotton-wool in glass-topped boxes and carefully labelled, and it is hoped that during 

 the present year the remainder of the collection will be put in order and thus rendered 

 available to students. No re-arrangement of this parr of the collection has been 

 attempted for the last tiiirty years, although very large additions had been made from the 

 donations of Messrs. Godman and Salvin, Mr. E. Ys . Gates and other naturalists, as well 

 as from the Gould Collection. 



The arrangement of the Collection of Lizards has made much progress ; the large 

 family of the AgamidcB and a portion of the IguanidcB having been put into thorough 

 order. 



The arrangement of the contents of the Fish Gallery has been delayed by the non- 

 delivery of Table-cases and Glass-cases which are required for accessions from the Fish- 

 eries Exhibition. 



To the Shell Gallery four temporary cases have been added, one for a small represen- 

 tative series of Cephaloi^ods (or Cuttle-fishes) in spirits, and the three others for the 

 reception of shells which are too large for exhibition in the table-cases. 



The arrangement of the Insect Gallery has made progress, but is far from being 

 completed, although the Entomologists of the Department are continuously engaged in 

 this work as far as other still more pressing duties permit. Nearly the whole of the 

 specimens exhibited in the old building wei'c faded or otherwise deteriorated, so that 

 the formation of a new t;nd more liberal exhibition had become a matter of necessity. 

 Thousands of specimens have to be set, and provided with printed or fairly written labels. 

 The series of Crustnceu, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoplcra are completed. 



By employing external help progress has been made with the incorporation of the 

 " Zeller Collection," which involves a re-arrangement of a great portion of the Diurnal 

 Lepidoptera. 



In the Starfish Gallery a tem])orary case has been erected for the exhibition of worms 

 which are mounted in spirits. The Sea-urchins have been fixed upon fresh tablets, the 

 paper of the old ones having faded. 



In the Coral Gallery no alterations Avere necessary during the year except those 

 occasioned by the introduction of fresh acquisitions. Four large sponges, " Neptune's 

 cups " {^RlMphiophora patera), mounted on handsome mahogany stands, have been placed 

 on view, showing the great variety of form assumed by this remarkable species. A large 

 number of smaller sponges have been mounted on Sycamore stands, properly labelled, 

 and are now exhibited. The naming of the " Challenger " Collection of Reef Corals, 

 numbering about 280 species, of which 70 (including the types of 7 new genera) are 

 new to science, has been completed. Also the " Challenger " Collection of Calcareous 

 sponges has been compared with the published Report, and arranged on shelves in the 

 Spirit Building. The exhibition series of Hydrozoa and Polyzoa, which are also placed 

 in the Coral Gallery, has been partially re-arranged, and many of the species already in 

 the collection and those acquired during the year have been named and incorporated. 



Ihe arrangement of the British Room has been steadily proceeded with. The collection 

 of Shells, which has been in a very unsatisfactory condition for many years, has been 

 thoroughly renovated as far as the end of the M arine Gastropoda (about half of the 

 collection). All the specimens have been removed from their old faded tablets, cleaned 

 and re-mounted upon dark paper in glass-topped boxes, which are so arranged in the 

 exhibition cases that the smaller species can be examined with an ordinary lens without 

 the cases being opened. All the species have been critically examined, named and 



labelled. 



