80 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



MUSEUM REPORTS.— I. 



MUSEE ROYAL D'HISTOIRE NATURELLE DE BELGIQUE : 



BRUSSELS. 



By G. Severin, Aide-naturaliste an Mnsee. 



I am unable to report as to the whole of our zoological 

 collections. At a standstill, except in the palseontologieal series, 

 our Museum has not advanced for some years, except in Ento- 

 mology, of which I will gladly speak. My aim on my arrival at 

 the Museum was above all things to have a collection useful to 

 everybody, and it will perhaps be of some interest to state how 

 I worked for that purpose, and with what result. 



It must be remembered that I have been at the Museum only 

 six years, but these have proved to me that collections, even the 

 most important, can in a short time be brought to complete order. 

 Above everything I have abandoned all idea of specialising a 

 group or family of insects. I am interested as much in Coleoptera 

 as in Hemiptera, or in Crustacea as in Arachnida. I determine 

 nothing myself, except any well-known species of which I know 

 the name, and of which there can be no doubt. All our ento- 

 mological collections are determined by distinguished specialists, 

 and I prefer to await the offer of assistance rather than to solicit 

 it. When the insects are determined each receives a label with 

 the name of the verifier and the year when verified, and a number is 

 attached to the species repeated with all specimens, corresponding 

 to the name given by the specialist, which name is written in a 

 register-catalogue. If a second specialist should study the same 

 insect his identification is indicated on another label without any 

 change of number if his verification should agree with the former 

 one. A new number below the former number indicates a 

 divergence of opinion between the specialists. After a certain 

 time the insects so studied will have a great scientific value and 

 the collection a strikingly typical status. This system is com- 



