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4 present crowded condition of the curator's room it has been found impossible to do this properly. The following records in addition to the current record,are kept with great care and exactitude,^[[& are]] necessitated by the business of the department which has greatly increased in magnitude during the last five years. These records are as follows. Record of Reserve Series. Record of General Series. Record of Letters received. Record of Letters sent. Record of Requisitions. In these may be found every matter of business transacted in the Department of Reptiles. No little labor is involved in attending promptly to the official correspondence,which is quite voluminous at times,for letters of enquiry are received from all parts of the world,to answer which require much study,thought and labor. During the year 1884,over two hundred letters were received and answered,and many were written in addition. The long cherished desire of the Curator to have prepared a card catalogue of the collection of reptiles ,is now in a fair way towards realization,as a commencement has been made and over a thousand specimens have been examined,verified and carded, this in view of the regular work which was arduous in 1884 is considered a good beginning. The manuscript of a Manual of Herpetology (mentioned in last years report) by the curator could be put into the hands of the printerwithin a short period,if the illustrations were all completed. Owing to a want of funds,further work upon these has been stopped. No special work has been attempted this year apart from the
