12 
REPORT OE THE 
Society possesses. It is their earnest wish and design to make 
this collection still more important, by including in it specimens 
of the more recent English wares, especially those which have 
had their origin in the North of England. The Curators 
venture to appeal to the Members of the Society generally to 
enable them to carry out what they desire to see gradually 
effected. There is no reason why the York Museum should 
not be made what the Liverpool Museum is now, through the 
generosity of Mr. Mayer, a repository of a continuous series of 
the productions of the ceramic art, from the earliest period to 
the present day. 
In conclusion, the Curators beg to direct the attention of the 
Council to the fact that only a very small portion of the 
Monkman collection of British antiquities is at present exhibited. 
The fittings of the British and Anglo-Saxon Boom are wholly 
inadequate for that purpose. 
The Curator of Comparative Anatomy draws attention to 
the extent and great value of the Society’s collection. The 
best known part of the collection is the splendid series of 
skeletons of birds, formerly belonging to the late Mr. Allis, 
and to the collecting and preservation of which he devoted the 
greater part of his life. It includes a vast number of complete 
specimens, each of which, with one exception, is formed from a 
single bird. The collection is almost, if not quite, unique, 
and the late Professor Grant, of University College, spoke 
highly of its value. It is, of course, chiefly important from 
the number and variety of the specimens affording materials 
for comparison; but, apart from this, many individual speci¬ 
mens are of great value, both scientifically and intrinsically. 
The skeleton of the Dinornis robustus , presented by Dr. Gibson, 
is the largest and most perfect specimen known, and is now 
one of the most valuable treasures of the collection. 
The Mammalian collection contains many choice specimens, 
but bavins; been formed rather from casual donations than 
from any systematic collection, it is somewhat deficient in some 
of the ordinary forms, which no one probably has thought fit 
to supply, because they were within every one’s reach. 
