IV ANNIVERSARY MEETING. 



propriate mark, and that a separate catalogue of them be kept. Also 

 that lists of such published species as are not in the collection, should 

 be suspended in the Museum, and that Members be requested to assist 

 in supplying the desiderata. 



The Committee have seen with great pleasure that the Irish and 

 Scotch collections are being incorporated with the English. 



They recommend that a large portion of the rock specimens, which 

 are of little value in the British division of the collection, be gradu- 

 ally removed, to make room for other specimens of more consequence. 



It is very desirable that more glass cases should be provided for 

 the larger specimens, which are at present lying about the room, liable 

 to injury. The cases placed in one of the windows have proved very 

 useful, and they recommend that the other windows be similarly made 

 use of. Deeper cases however are required for some of the larger 

 specimens ; and there are many situations where they might be placed 

 with advantage. 



The glass cases on the stairs, added since the last Annual Meeting, 

 have proved of great service. 



Foreign Collection, 



The Foreign collection is in an unavoidable state of confusion. In 

 consequence of the room being over- crowded ; a large number of valu- 

 able specimens are lying exposed for want of drawers, and others 

 are nearly inaccessible. 



The Committee recommend most strongly that steps should be 

 taken to provide drawers for all of them, that the Rocks be sepa- 

 rated from the Fossils, and the collection weeded of specimens of no 

 value ; the number of simple minerals in that room ought to be 

 transferred to the Mineral collection in the Library. 



Among the most important additions to this part of the collection 

 during the year, have been the Gothland collections, presented by 

 Sir Roderick Murchison, those from Scinde by Captain Vicary, and 

 from Australia by Mr. Jukes. 



The Committee suggest that the collections would be much more 

 valuable for reference if the Foreign and British collections were so 

 placed as to admit of easy consultation at the same time. They 

 think that this might be done, without intermixing the specimens, 

 by placing the greater geological groups in sequence ; thus the 

 British Palaeozoic might be followed by the Foreign Palaeozoic col- 

 lection, and the Oolitic, Cretaceous and Tertiary arranged in like 

 manner. It appears desirable that this should be considered at pre- 

 sent, as Mr. Sowerby is now going through the British collection in 

 a manner which causes great changes to be made in the cabinets, 

 and because new cases must be provided for part of the Foreign col- 

 lection. 



The Committee have to add, that such an arrangement would be 

 equally advantageous to the Curator and to students of the collec- 

 tions. 



