3 
“ The Society will doubtless be eager to do every honour to 
the munificent donor of these splendid Fossils, if it has 
any real wish to acquire the reputation of possessing a valuable 
museum. The foundation of our fossil collection was but laid 
four years ago, and already through the contributions of Col. 
Burney, Dr. Spilsbury, Capt. Smith, Mr. Dean, &c. now enriched 
by Col. Colvin’s vast store of specimens, it has become necessary 
to devote an entire apartment to this instructive department of 
Natural History. Our smallest return of gratitude to those who 
have been at such considerable expense in promoting the Society’s 
interests will be to do honor to what has been so generously 
bestowed, by making up fit cabinets to exhibit them to the best 
advantage “ and by spreading the knowledge of them as expedi- 
tiously and widely as possible.” (Journal A. S. Yol. Y. p. 181.) 
The commentary upon this passage, is to be found four years 
after in Mr. Piddington’s reports, when he officiated as Curator. 
In his first monthly report dated the 30th November, 1840, he 
refers to the sad dilapidation going on among the Geological and 
Palaeontological Collections, partly from trusting to very perish- 
able recording by ink and paper labels in a climate like this ; 
partly from the almost entire absence of any general or serial 
Catalogues to the various collections ; and partly from breaking 
into the Collections for completing arrangements, that were left 
incomplete, or never carried out. In the Palaeontological collec- 
tion, there were no registers or Catalogues beyond the few lists 
printed in the Journal, and the specimens were then “fast 
loosing their labels of names, and above all, of localities.” In 
his subsequent reports (Yol. IX. pp. 863, 943, 1056, and Yol. X. 
pp. 166, 415, 675,) he mentions the steps he was then taking 
to remedy these evils, and it is only an act of bare justice in me 
now to state that I have seen abundant evidence in the methodi- 
cal labels of the cases and drafts of commenced Catalogues which 
are still in existence, that Mr. Piddington was doing his best 
and with considerable success, during the eleven months when he 
officiated as Curator, to place the Palaeontological collections in 
