22 NATURAL SCIENCE. July, 



and all branches receive the benefits which are derivable from the 

 workshops, skilled artisans, and plant which can alone be efficiently 

 maintained in a large central institution. 



It is a minor, but at the same time an important, matter to 

 remember, too, that miscellaneous contributions and bequests to an 

 institution with many branches can generally all be dealt with and 

 provided with proper places in the various sections ; but such 

 donations to a specialised Museum are often out of place, and cannot, 

 or at least should not, be exhibited. Moreover, there are many objects 

 which belong to the borderlands of Science or of Art, or of some of 

 their distinct subdivisions respectively, and for such objecis, instead of 

 having one location, it may be necessary, wherever there are distinct 

 Museums, to have several more or less complete repetitions. It will 

 be admitted, I think, that, generally speaking, it is undesirable that 

 two or more Museums in the same city should overlap in their 

 ranges by exhibiting the same or similar objects, or by competing 

 at sales for their purchase ; the advantages of that state of things 

 being indeed restricted to the sellers, none being felt by the public at 

 large, whether as ratepayers or visitors to the Museums. 



The position of our great central National Museum here may be 

 compared to a river into which many tributaries have poured their 

 contents ; but to prevent any misconception from the use of that 

 term, they should rather be called contributaries. Although the sources 

 of the main stream in this case stretch far back into a now remote 

 past, I purpose to deal with these contributaries first, giving brief 

 sketches of each of them, and omitting such details as it would be 

 tedious, even if it were possible, to deal with on the present occasion. 



On the subject of Provincial Museums in Ireland I shall say very 

 little. Attached to the Queen's Colleges at Belfast, Galway, and 

 Cork there are Museums which are primarily intended for teaching 

 purposes, but are also open to the public. At long intervals I have 

 seen all of them, and each, I believe I am correct in saying, repre- 

 sents more or less the views of the Professors respectively who have 

 had charge of them, controlled, no doubt, to a considerable extent 

 by the amount of funds which have been available. 



There are two other Museums in Belfast, namely, that belonging 

 to the Corporation, and that of the Natural History Society. Already 

 these and the College Museum overlap in some departments, which 

 is perhaps unfortunate; but that is a matter which it is not for me 

 to comment upon further here, as I know there are difficulties 

 connected with it, and I do not venture to suggest a remedy, 

 though what one suggestion would be is sufficiently indicated by the 

 remarks made above upon our centralised system in Dublin. 



Minor Museums exist in Larne, Armagh, Kilkenny, and possibly 

 in some other towns; they owe their origins to the activity of local 

 societies or of individuals, some of whom have passed away, and 

 although they contain objects of interest and value, they include some 



