1839.] Asiatic Society. 963 



"Fourthly. We have a nearly complete series of Mammalia and Birds collected by 

 Colonel Sykes in the Dekun, of the importance and extent of which you can judge 

 by the respective catalogues contained in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 for 1831 and 1832. 



"Fifthly. We have a few specimens from China, Nepal, and the Upper Provinces 

 of Bengal, but these are imperfect and fragmentary. 



" To these has now been added a series, almost complete, of the Mammalia and Birds 

 collected by yourself in Assam, which have been mounted, and form a valuable addi- 

 tion to the specimens exhibited in our Museum. 



"All these separate Faunas are neatly arranged in our natural history department, 

 which consists of a large room well lighted, and provided with excellent cabinets for 

 the preservation of the subjects. 



" This Museum I may say is established on a modest scale, and without the pretension 

 to extent or elegance of the national collections (such as the British or Hunterian, or 

 even the Zoological Societies) but our specimens are generally good, being prepared by 

 the best London artists, and my endeavour is to have them correctly labelled. 



" Our collection consists mainly of Quadrupeds and Birds ; but we have also a small 

 collection of Fishes, Reptiles, and Serpents, which have recently been examined by 

 Dr. Cantor, who has prepared a list of them, agreeably to which they are arranged. 



" It is my intention as soon as possible to prepare a general list of the Mammalia 

 and Birds which are arranged in our Museum for transmission to you, so that you may 

 form an accurate idea of what we have, and be enabled to judge of what we want. 



"I have no doubt the nature and importance of natural history is more considered 

 and appreciated now, than it was in former times ; and I cherish the hope that the coun- 

 tenance and support of Government will ere long be extended to it in an effectual way ; 

 but this I can at present only allude to as a wish or expectation. Meanwhile I may 

 enumerate some of the subjects which would be particularly desirable. We want, for 

 instance, many of the birds of Bengal. All the rarer species, and some of the more 

 common (of these I hope soon to send you a provisional list) ; we want generally the 

 Birds of Silhet, the Garrow Hills, Tenasserim, Arracan, Burmah, &c. &c. and dupli- 

 cates of the new and of all the rarer species discovered by you in Assam. 



"We want a complete series of the Birds of Nepal, also Mammalia; the smaller 

 species would suit our purpose best, as we can more easily accommodate them. But 

 above all, and especially, we want a large, full, and complete collection of all the 

 Vesper tilionidce, or Bats of India. This is the most important family, as it has never 

 been sought after ; and I beg and entreat you to have a large collection made generally 

 throughout all India ; and I need not point out to you the localities where these animals 

 are most likely to be met with " 



Here Dr. Horsfield enters into particulars regarding the genera and species. 



" But besides these it is in the branch of Entomology that I would at present strongly 

 solicit contributions to the Company's Museum. I am more anxious on this head, as I 

 have succeeded in bringing an extensive collection of Insects from Java in excellent 

 condition, and with the exception of these, and the collection of Colonel Sykes, we 

 have absolutely nothing from Bengal or from India generally." On this subject Dr. 

 Horsfield delicately alludes to the probability of gentlemen connected with 



