386 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Decj mt.kr 4, 1915 



really matters in conducting children, and especially 

 their own children through museums and gardens. 

 One can onlj explain this in terms of want of 

 knowledge and imagination. The pity ofit is that it 

 happens at a time when the child's mmd is specially 

 impressionable, at a period when some latent attraction 

 i ii.i\ be aroused which will later on lead to a useful 

 intellectual career. 



One of tlic most encouraging aspects of recent 

 years is the popular guide system 1>\ means of which 

 parties are conveyed around museums or gardens by 

 a guide who explains. It has alreadj been the means 

 of liquidating the stored-up capital of fact that has 

 lain tor years untouched by the general public. Of 

 enormous value is tins system in the teaching of 

 geography, and one is reminded in this connexion of 

 the adoption of the method at the Indian and 

 Colonial Galleries at the Imperial Institute where the 

 London Countj Council school children are being 

 shown for the first time that the tropical colonies can 

 produce sugar as well as Germany, and that the 

 principal source of Para rubber is the British East and 

 no longer Brazil. 



As already pointed out, the efficacy of the service 

 rendered by a museum is not necessarily determined 

 by its sixe. In point of fact a municipal museum or 

 even a school museum can specialize to a point 

 unattainable in an institution where interests are 

 naturally broader. These town museums often offer 

 features of great local interest, and can do much 

 good in the way of displaying local resources 

 for educational and commercial purposes. We are 

 naturally prompted at this point to consider what 

 museums of this kind exist in the West Indies and 

 whether such as exist are fulfilling the best aims and 

 ideals. On account of its recent origin and the gnat 

 interest attaching to the island in which it is situated, 

 we may call attention to the- Dominica museum as 

 a type It is largelj economic in nature, and contains 

 verj representative collections of the different commer- 

 cial products of the island. These include amongst 

 other things a collection of Dominica fruits preserved 

 in formalin, a collection of Dominica grasses, a series 

 of samples illustrating the different products prepared 

 from limes, and a corresponding series in relation to 

 cacao. As w.ll as these are to be found such objects 

 of interest as a collection of tubes displaying the 

 physical composition of Dominica sods, and on the 

 entomological side, a good collection "I Dominica 

 moths and butterflies. The museum was originally 

 started as a purelj departmental concern tor the 



display of agricultural products, but as the above 

 facts will indicate, it has now obtained outside 



Support, and is in taet now controlled b\ a Hoard of 



Directors. As would be expected, a museum of greal 

 ■interest is to be found at Georgetown, British Guiana. 

 This is managed by the Royal Agricultural and 

 Commercial Society. The museum contains specimens 

 of most of the natural products of the colony, including 

 ■'d collection of animals, a very tine series of Indian 

 curios and stone implements, mineralogical specimens, 

 photos and views. There is also a small collection of 

 foreign animals, and an economic section containing 

 products from all parts of tin- world. In Trinidad also 

 is to be found an excellent museum containing many 

 hundreds of interesting specimens in natural history. 



The school museum differs from the above kinds 

 in at least one essential respect. Many of the collec- 

 tions maj be only temporary ones. That istosay.they 

 should be periodically renewed by the students 

 themselves. This will limit the scope of the collection 

 to readily obtainable material. In an agricultural 

 centre, the collection will include plants, insects and 

 minerals, as well as certain locally manufactured 

 products. The teacher will do well to remember thai 

 the specimens have been collected bo assist him in the 

 teaching of subjects, and should allow the different 

 classes to handle the specimens and to write or draw 

 descriptions of them. A school museum should be 

 a store-room rather than a formal museum. On the 

 other hand, careful classification and labelling should 

 never be neglected, nor should a series be discarded 

 for a fresh one until it has attained to some fair degree 

 of completeness. Onno account should there be any 

 attempt to do too much. Too ambitious a scheme will 

 show weakness in efficiency. There are so manysimple 

 things that are well worth while mastering thoroughly, 

 that it is unwise to run the risk of creating confusion 

 through passing on to new and less important matters 

 too hurriedly. 



This conception of a temporary museum which 

 has already been carried into effect in several West 

 Indian secondary schools has in particular one 

 practical advantage, namely, its economy. There is 

 no need to expend moiir\ upon elaborate cases or 

 costly mountings, nor to go to the trouble and expense 

 involved where it is desired to preserve material 

 indefinitely. The mam objecl is to have material on 

 hand tor teaching purposes, and the question of 

 permanencj only comes in occasionally in relation to 

 I he rarity of Si ime part leular obji Cl - 



