56 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THK BRITISH MUSEUM. 



As usual, no other branch of the Department has received so many additions as the 

 Entomological ; in fact, more than one-half of them consists of insects. But the 

 amount of additional curatorial work does not fall upon this branch in the same pro- 

 portion ; for, whilst of the 37,000 insects acquired, about 28,000, or nearly four-fifths, 

 were named, and are ready for incorporation ; of the 32,000 specimens which ha,ve 

 been added to the other branches of the Department, only some 17,000 were named ; 

 the remainder are in progress of examination, and this will prove to be a more 

 laborious task than can be expected to be performed by the present staff in the course 

 of one year. 



I. — Arrangement. 



Numerous collections received during the present or in past years have been 

 incorporated in the general series ; thus, the " Challenger " collections mentioned 

 hereafter, portions of the " Hume," " Tweeddale," " Godman-Salvin," " Shelley,' 

 and " Sclater," collections of birds, the Lizards of Central America, presented by 

 Messrs. Godman and Salvin, the " Day " and " Jayakar " collections of fishes, the 

 remainder of the Bowring-Chevrolat collection of Coleoptera, portions of the 

 " Grote," " Zeller," and " Hampson," collections of moths, the collection of deep 

 sea and marine littoraJ animals formed by the Rev. W. S. Green, in the Irish Sea, &c. 



The additions to the collections of mammals, reptiles, and fishes, have been entei-ed 

 in the printed catalogues as soon as they were examined and named. 



The systematic examination of the Edentata has been completed ; and a list of the 

 specimens in the Museum has been prepared. 



The systematic and final arrangement of the collection of birds keeps pace with the 

 progress of the " Catalogue." 



The snakes belonging to the families Tyj)hlo'pidcv, Stenostomatidw Uro'peltidoi, 

 and CdJamariida' have been re-examined, described, and catalogued. 



The Mollusca of the genera Rohillardin, MeUi/pium, and Lohigcf, have been 

 worked out and arranged. 



The Scorpions of the genus Buthus have been identified ; the Myriopoda of the 

 families Geo^philidce and Lithohiidoi have been worked out, and a manuscript list of 

 the species has been prepared. 



The description of the Bvjpvestidcti of Central America and the re-arrangement of 

 the family Laviiidce have been concluded ; progress has been made in determining 

 and labelling the species of the family Ceramhycidce ; and the arrangement of the 

 Lamellicorn Beetles has been commenced. 



The British Rhynchota from the " Scott " collection have been labelled and 

 arranged ; the arrangement of the Blattidce has been completed, and the specimens 

 of the Hymenopterous family *S^co/i;V/ce have been re-arranged and the new species 

 described. 



The re-arrangement of the Lepidoptei-a of the tribe Noctuites has made consider- 

 able progress, and that of the Pyralites completed. 



The preliminary arrangement of the Polyzoa has been completed. 



The manuscript lists of Echinoderms have been kept up to date ; and a thorough 

 revision of the specimens of species inhabiting the British coasts has been 

 commenced. 



A very complete collection of the marine invertebrates made by Mr. P. W. Bassett- 

 Smith during the survey of the Tizard and Macclesfield Banks by H.M.S. "Rambler," 

 under the command of Capt. W. U. Moore, has been systematically examined by 

 members of the staft' of the Department, and the Corals which formed the most 

 important part of the collection, by Mr. Bassett-Smith himself. A selection of this 

 collection is at present on exhibition in the Coral Gallery. 



The specific names of most of the exhibited examples of Hydroida have been 

 ascertained. 



II. — Registration. 



All the specimens obtained duiing the year, whether by purchase or presentation, 

 have been entered in the manuscript registers of accessions, and the register number 

 attached to them. For futui-e reference the date and mode of acquisition, the exact 

 locality where the specimens were obtained, the name of the collector, and any other 

 particulars of interest respecting them, are entered. The number of Birds registered 

 during the year amounts to 17,480, of which 5,101 belong to the "Hume," 2,-543 to 

 the " Tweeddale," and 3,989 to the " Godman-Salvin " collection. 



III. — Conse'fvation. 



The usual work of conservation has been continued as in previous years, by dusting 

 and cleaning, in rotation, the exhibited specimens ; placing the registered collections 

 of Bird-skins, Shells, dried Sponges, Echinoderms, and Polyzoa in glass-topped boxes, 

 renewing the camphor in the wall-cases, store-cabinets, and insect-drawers, and the 

 spirit of the collections preserved in alcohol. 



The collection of human crania has been thoroughly overhauled ; the skulls have 

 been sorted, placed in new boxes, and re-labelled. 



The 



