i893- 



THE ROTHSCHILD MUSEUM. 



59 



terms his " Public Collection " ; and this is regularly open to the 

 inspection of visitors. The private cabinets for study are arranged in 

 the "cottage" at the entrance, and in the "bird rooms " at the 

 opposite end of the museum. The Bird Room on the ground floor is 

 already fitted with cabinets and provisionally arranged. The 

 collection comprises about 30,000 skins of from 5,000 to 6,000 species, 

 and is especially rich in " types," The specimens are preserved, the 

 larger ones in glass-topped drawers, and the smaller ones in light 

 glass-topped drawer-trays, the birds lying in rows in cardboard 

 grooves. This arrangement is found peculiarly convenient, per- 

 mitting, as it does, the whole of the individuals of a species to be 



Fig. 2. — The Upper Puulic Gallery uf the Rothschilu Museum, Tring. 



lifted out at once and removed in their own tray to the student's work- 

 room and library. The upper bird room is as yet merely a store-room, 

 and above this is another small store-room in the roof, reached by a 

 spiral staircase. 



The " cottage " is separated from the Museum by a wide stone 

 staircase, which forms the public means of access to the gallery. It 

 contains Mr. Rothschild's own study, the curators" room, the library, 

 and the entomological cabinets. The library is certainly the most 

 useful and extensive collection of Natural History serials we have 

 seen in a private institution ; the special works on Ornithology and 

 Entomology are mostly represented, and are being constantly added 



