No. 50.— 1899.] 



ANNUAL REPORT. 



9 



The Council desire to once more draw the attention of the Govern- 

 ment to the want of adequate accommodation. Additional room is 

 urgently required ; and the necessity for the enlargement of the Museum 

 building has been strongly represented to Government by the Museum 

 Committee. The insufficiency of book room has existed for some years 

 now ; attention has been called to the fact more than once, and the 

 Government has admitted the need. The difficulty of finding room for 

 current accessions to the Library becomes daily greater. Confident 

 expection is entertainedthat the long-deferred extension of the Museum 

 will be shortly undertaken. This will alone meet the emergency 

 and relieve the congestion apparent everywhere. 



Journals. 



One Number of the Journal has been published during the year 

 {Vol. XT., No. 48, 1897). It contains, in addition to the Proceedings of 

 the Council and General Meetings, the following Papers : — 



(i.) " Contributions to Ceylon Malacology : II. — The Terrestrial 

 Mollusca of Ambagamuwa," by O. Collett, F.R.M.S. 



(ii.) Ancient Cities and Temples in the Kurunegala District : 

 Dambadeniya," by F. H. Modder. 



(hi.) "A Geological arid Mineralogical Sketch of the North- 

 western Province, Ceylon," by F. H. Modder. 



(iv.) " Some Illustrations from the Fauna of Ceylon of Wallace's 

 Theory of Natural Selection," by A. Haly. 



(v.) "Interim Report on the Operations of the Archaeological 

 Survey at Si'giriva (Third Season), 1897," by H. C. P. 

 Bell, C.C.S. 



The printing of the Journal for 1898, No. 49, is nearly complete ; 

 and it will be issued shortly. 



Archaeology. 



The Council regret that this number will not contain the continuation 

 of the Archaeological Commissioner's Interim Reports on Sigiriya, 

 which have formed so interesting a feature in the recent numbers of 

 the Journal. Further report has been deferred by the Commissioner, 

 so as to include in it an account of final operations (undertaken by the 

 directions of the Government) which are being carried on during the 

 present year. 



The study of the Archaeology of Ceylon is one of the most important 

 of the objects of this Society, and it was mainly due to the activity of 

 this Society that the Government of Ceylon decided to prosecute 

 Archaeological research systematically by appointing an Archaeological 

 Commissioner. A brief annual summary of the work kindly furnished 

 by the Commissioner has for some years formed an important 

 feature in the Society's Annual Report. The Commissioner has now 

 been called upon to furnish the Government annually with a 

 short general Administration Report, independent of Progress 

 Reports issued from time to time, as plans, &c, are made ready. 

 We are glad, however, to state that this will not prevent him 

 from furnishing the Society with the usual annual summary, the 

 publication of which in our Journal gives information as to the pro- 

 gress of the Commissioner's work to many readers who would be 

 unlikely to see the official Administration Report. 



