1840.] Asiatic Society. 1139 



*'H. W. ToRRENS, Esq. 



Secretary Asiatic Society. 

 " Sir, 



" I have the honour to submit as follows my report for the month of February. 



*' Geological, Mineralogical, and Paleontological Departments. — Proceeding at 

 every spare moment, with Catalogues, of which a part are now at press : and with the 

 numbering and arranging of collections. 



" The two cases of specimens forwarded by the Honorable the Court of Directors, 

 under the care of Captain Tremenheere, as a basis for a Museum of Economic 

 Geology, have been imported, and their contents temporarily arranged ; but before 

 putting the labels we have to fit up the interior of two out of the three cases. Another 

 case is wanting to exhibit this collection properly, and several others to contain the 

 additions we can make to the Museum from the Society's collections and from dona- 

 tions, and for those expected from England. The report on this collection has been 

 made and sent in to you. 



** We have some valuable additions to these departments, which will be noticed in 

 the account of additions to the Museum. 



" Mammelogical,Ornithological, and Osteological Departments.— Severaii additions, 

 which will be detailed at the conclusion. I beg to report that we can make up 

 another box for the Honorable the Court of Directors ; it will consist nearly as 

 follows : — 



"1. Skeleton of a Fox (Indian) prepared by us. 



"2. A small box of fresh-water shells, being part of a collection presented by Mr. 

 Stocqueler. 



"3 r50 Skins of Birds, J 



] 5 Ss,"^'^^ ^°''''' [ Duplicates from Sir A. Burnes' Collection. 



(_ 8 Fishes of the Indus, } 



" I may suggest here that we point out to the Curator of the Museum of the Court of 

 Directors, the great facility with which, if approved of by the Court, he might procure, 

 in exchange for such specimens as he already possesses, some of the many which we 

 require for the Museum of Economic Geology. It is scarcely possible to send home a 

 skin of a bird, a skeleton, or a scull from India for which some duplicate may not be 

 obtained in exchange, which would be of utility to us here. 



" Three large cases of specimens have been sent down by Mr. Clarke, Political 

 Agent at Umballa, which upon examination prove to be the collections made by 

 Sir A. Burnes, on his mission to Scinde, to which many of his drawings now in the 

 hands of the lithographers relate. They seem unfortunately to have remained for 

 the whole time without any care whatsoever, and many are wholly destroyed ! 



•* Mr. Clarke informs us that the collection has beeninspectedby Dr. Jameson, who 

 has promised a report upon it. The contents of the chests were as follows : — 



Birds. — retained for the Museum, 19 



duplicates, to be sent home, 50 



rotten, and thrown away, 22 



Total, 91 



