3 ° 
PROFESSOR OWEN 
CH. II. 
refused five years before a post vacant by the 
death of Charles Kdnig, the salary of which was 
reduced, but on this occasion a special office was 
created, and Owen became ‘ Superintendent of 
the Departments of Natural History.’ This office 
gave place, on his retirement in 1884, to that of 
‘ Director of the British Museum ’ (Natural His- 
tory), under which name he was succeeded by 
Professor Flower. 
On taking up the work of the departments 
placed under his charge, Professor Owen became 
better acquainted with the melancholy condition of 
affairs, and determined to submit to the Trustees 
a statement embodying estimates of space required 
for exhibition of all the collections, adding to it 
considerations on the ratio of increase during the 
previous ten years, and the probable future in- 
crease by annual additions. 
In dealing with the British Museum, however, 
Owen had a vastly different task from that which 
he had previously undertaken. When at the 
College of Surgeons, he was dealing with a Board 
of Governors, who, whatever their personal idiosyn- 
crasies, were all impressed with the importance 
of improving the collections placed under their 
charge. With the British Museum and its 
Trustees the matter was entirely different. Here 
there were several ‘ departments,’ each under the 
charge of an energetic if not ambitious head, and 
each anxious for a large share of the spoils ; while 
