282 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



which had come to hand since 1881 for a new and revised list of species, 

 the author pointed out that the present paper was not intended merely for 

 the use of authors or collectors interested in local faunas, but to give (with 

 references to primary authorities) the spiders at present known to belong 

 to Great Britain and Ireland, leaving the question of their distribution, 

 abundance, or scarcity to be dealt with at some future time, when the 

 present scanty number of spider-collectors might have increased. At 

 present large areas of varied natural characters, in some cases whole coun- 

 ties, and many maritime districts, were entirely unexplored, so far as their 

 arachnology was concerned. With respect to nomenclature and systematic 

 arrangement, the author had mainly followed the plan of ' The Spiders of 

 Dorset' (1881); but in dealing with the large groups represented by Mr. 

 Blackwell's Neriene, Linyphia, and Walckencera, he had to a great extent 

 followed M. Simon's lead in breaking up these genera in order to bring a 

 large heterogeneous mass of material into a fairly workable form. 



The Report of the Council and Auditors of the Zoological Society for 

 1898 is now before us. A continual increase in the number of members is 

 again shown, which has now been going on for the past six years, and the 

 number of Fellows is now in excess of what it has been in any year since 

 1885. A new Llama-house has been constructed. The reconstruction in 

 an improved form of the Llama-house, one of the oldest buildings in the 

 Gardens, has long been a matter of urgency. It is believed that the new 

 house, which has been built upon the same site from plans drawn up by 

 Mr. C. B. Trollope, is well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended. 

 It is a well-lighted and airy building, and gives excellent accommodation to 

 the Society's stock of these animals. The new Llama-house was built by 

 Messrs. Smith & Co., at a cost of £767 7s. 2d., which has been charged to 

 the extraordinary expenditure of the year 1898. More space being 

 required for the proper accommodation of the Society's fine series of Zebras 

 and Wild Asses, it was determined by the Council, in ] 898, to erect a new 

 Zebra-house immediately adjoining the existing Zebra-house, in the further 

 corner of the Middle Garden, upon the site then occupied by the old 

 Ostrich-house, which had become available on the transfer of the Ostriches 

 and Cassowaries into the new Ostrich-house in the South Garden. The 

 new Zebra-house, which was designed by Mr. Charles B. Trollope, and built 

 by Messrs. Smith & Co., will, it is believed, be found to give excellent 

 accommodation to these favourite animals, and at the same time replace an 

 old and ruinous building by an elegant and ornamental structure. The 

 total number of deaths of animals in the gardens during the year 1898 was 

 1054, showing a decrease of 142 as compared with the previous year. Of 

 these deaths the more important were: — The young Giraffe which was 



