10 



preparation of the old specimens (many of them of historical 

 value) which figure in the collections of the great museums of 

 Europe, and to compare them with the elegantly-mounted 

 examples of the modern taxidermist's art ; nor is it a matter 

 of great difficulty for any specialist to improve upon the early 

 labours of any of these first workers in zoology. But too 

 often sufficient allowance in not made for the difficulty in 

 procuring material in days gone by, for the scarcity of books 

 of reference, while certainty none of the facilities for visiting 

 foreign museums existed at the time when many of the works 

 of these zoologists were written. To their deceased country- 

 man Englishmen owe a lasting debt of gratitude. There are 

 many now living who can remember the old Montague House, 

 which stood on the site of the present British Museum ; and 

 foreign naturalists who saw the zoological collections there 

 exhibited never failed to render justice to Dr. Gray, under 

 whose direction the Museum has since accumulated the finest 

 zoological collections in the world. For fifty years the deceased 

 naturalist laboured in the National Museum, devoting his 

 whole time and energy to the perfecting of the collections 

 under his charge, and sparing not his own pocket when any 

 emergency arose for purchasing specimens after the Govern-' 

 ment grant had been exhausted. The British nation may 

 justly be proud of the high position in which the Museum 

 now stands ; and it will not grudge a tribute to the memory 

 of the man who, finding the zoological collection one of the 

 poorest, has ended by making it the richest in the world. 



Dr. Gray was less known as an author of original works 

 than as a voluminous contributor to periodical literature. 

 The " Catalogue " of the Royal Society gives a list of his 

 scientific papers published between the years 1824 and 1863, 

 and these amount to the astounding number of 497 ; and as, 

 since that date, the late Doctor relaxed none of his energy, it 

 is quite probable that a complete list of his essays up to the 

 present time would amount to nearly double that number. 

 These published memoirs relate to a variety of subjects, and 



