The Report. 



85 



the extreme importance of promoting the safe keeping of such 

 ancient books and documents as now come into the custody of 

 Parish Councils. The County Council of Wiltshire is exercising 

 its powers to secure the transfer of such documents into the custody 

 of Parish Councils. This Society may well express the desire that 

 the powers of the Council may also be exercised most rigorously to 

 secure their safe keeping by their new custodians. There is ground 

 for fearing that in some cases there is no sufficient provision made 

 for this, and no supervision of the documents or the receptacles in 

 which they are now supposed to be preserved. 



" 6. At the Museum a new case has been placed in the Antiquities 

 Koom to accommodate the finds from the various Eoman wells near 

 Silbury Hill, and a good deal of progress has been made in photo- 

 graphing, drawing, and describing the objects not included in the 

 Stourhead Collection, with a view to the publication of a second 

 portion of the catalogue. This work, however, must necessarily 

 take some considerable time before it is completed. The most 

 notable gift during the year is that by Mr. W. Brown of the case 

 of objects belonging to him which have long been exhibited on loan, 

 including the very fine specimen of a ' Grape Cup,' found near 

 Avebury. 



" After the additions made to the collection of birds last year the 

 Committee requested their old and tried friend, Eev. A. C. Smith, 

 to inspect the birds and the cases in which they are placed, with an 

 idea that they might be re-arranged and catalogued. Mr. Smith 

 kindly rendered to the Society this congenial service. He reported 

 that we have a noble collection of British birds, of which any 

 county might be proud, and that they appear to be in excellent 

 preservation, so far as could be seen. The numbering of the birds 

 is, however, very defective. Mr. Smith made a suggestion as to 

 how they might be catalogued, but strongly deprecated opening the 

 cases, which might entail risk of great injury to the specimens. 



"7. The Library has received this year one of tho most re- 

 markable donations that have ever been made to the Society, con- 

 sisting of a great number of most valuable deeds and MSS, oomieoted 

 with the family history of the county, dating from the thirteenth 



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