Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, fyc. 371 
strators being such as the Society could not accept, some 
delay took place in the transfer. About a year and a half 
afterwards, the wrapper of this Magazine contained a notice 
that on the 23rd April, 1861, and following day, “ a superb 
and unique collection of British Birds* Eggs, belonging to 
the Museum of a late celebrated physician/* would be sold at 
Mr. Stevens*s rooms. When the catalogue of this sale came 
out, it was pretty evident that its compiler had had access 
to Mr. Salmon*s papers. The catalogue purported to include 
very many eggs (some of them most valuable specimens) which 
were well known by several of our supporters to have been in 
Mr. Salmon*s possession a short time only before his decease. 
These were, however, interspersed with others, the histories of 
which, as there given, were so manifestly untrue as to render 
it plain that the writer was guilty of crass ignorance as an 
ornithologist, even if they did not suggest the possibility of 
something worse. We made some inquiry of our friend Mr. S. 
Stevens respecting this sale. He frankly told us that all he 
could say was, that the person who communicated with him 
respecting it professed to be acting under the directions of 
the executors of the late Dr. Martin Barry, F.R.S., who was 
certainly entitled to the designation of a “late celebrated phy¬ 
sician.** On further inquiry in another quarter, we were told 
that the presence in the sale of so many eggs known to have 
once been Mr. Salmon*s property was to be accounted for by 
the fact that Dr. Barry had received them in exchange from 
that gentleman! Now considering that some of these, unmis- 
takeably described as they were in the catalogue, were specimens 
so valuable that it was impossible to suppose Mr. Salmon would 
ever have willingly parted with them, we thought the story a 
lame one, but with it were fain to be content. Some time after, 
hearing that Mr. Salmon*s collection had been actually handed 
over to the Linnean Society, and was to be seen in their rooms 
at Burlington House, we went thither, and found that all its 
choicest rarities had been removed, and their places supplied 
by most palpable forgeries or worthless substitutes. It then 
became plain that an extensive fraud had been perpetrated by 
some one. But no remedy could be suggested, and we did not 
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