VIU ANNIVERSARY MEETING. 



West Indies, viz. : — Antigua .... 17 drawers. 

 Jamaica .... 1 

 Bermuda .... 4 

 Barbadoes . . 4 

 St. Domingo .. 2 



South America 6 



Egypt 9 



Madagascar 1 



Australia 13 



Van Diemen's Land 4 



Asia 56 



Little lias been done to tbe latter divisions of tbe collection beyond 

 placing tbe drawers in tbose cabinets in wbieb they are to remain. 

 Tbe collections from Pondicberiy and Cutch and part of tbe West 

 Indian series were found in good order : most of tbe rest will require 

 mucb labour upon tbeir arrangement. 



Besides wbat bave been mentioned above, there still remain a few 

 drawers in the Foreign Museum tbe contents of which have to be 

 sorted and then worked into their proper places in tbe cabinets. A. 

 very large number of specimens, many of them of gTeat interest, which 

 have long lain unseen in the crypts, will have to be brought into the 

 Foreign Collection upstairs, to which they mil form a most valuable 

 addition ; and some recent donations (includhig tbe rich collection 

 from the Cape of Good Hope, sent by Mr. Atherstone) have to be 

 incorporated. It is not possible at present to form any accurate idea 

 of the space these additions will occupy, but so much room has been 

 made in the Upper Museum by the removal of rock-specimens and 

 the discarding mere rubbish and duplicates, and so much more space 

 may yet be gained by a more thorough weeding of the contents of 

 the drawers, that the Committee have little doubt that tbe space will 

 be found more than sufficient for the whole of the Foreign Collection 

 at present belonging to the Society. 



Collections preserved in the Crypts. — Besides what have been al- 

 ready mentioned under the heads of Rocks and Minerals, there still 

 remain downstairs more than 100 boxes of Foreign and British spe- 

 cimens. 



The Foreign specimens have been roughly examined by the Com- 

 mittee ; many are quite valueless and had better be thrown away ; 

 many are duplicates of specimens upstairs which might be given away : 

 but there are also very many valuable specimens which should be 

 placed in the drawers of tbe Foreign Collection. It will be a work 

 of considerable labour to separate these, but as it is not possible that 

 this could be done properly while they remained below in the dark, 

 the Committee have had them removed to tbe room on tbe ground-floor, 

 and have commenced a detailed examination of them. They recom- 

 mend that the boxes remain where they are until this examination be 

 completed and tbeir contents finally disposed of. 



Duplicates. — It has been stated above that the Committee have 

 already set apart a large number of duplicate specimens of Rocks 

 and Minerals which were onlv an encumbrance to the collection of 



