36 ON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS. 



from room to room ; but the practice does not appear to have 

 been always satisfactory. At any rate a visitor in the beginning 

 of the last century, was led to complain that the conductor 

 treated the company to ' ; witticisms-dn various subjects of natural 

 history, in a style of vulgarity and impudence, which I should 

 not have expected to have met in this place." 5 ' 2 



Formal demonstrations in a museum are generally attended 

 with more difficulty than most people imagine ; and after much 

 experience, both as a listener and as a demonstrator, I was led 

 some years ago to suggest that the formal demonstration, or 

 lecture, should be given in a neighbouring room rather than in 

 the midst of the cases. 53 It is gratifying to find that at the Essex 

 Museum arrangements are now being made, whereby a 

 convenient room, with electric lantern and screen, will be placed 

 at the disposal of those who desire to give demonstrations in 

 illustration of the contents of the museum. 



In a paper on the utilization of local museums read at the 

 last meeting of the British Association, the Rev. YV. Johnson, of 

 York, described the excellent work of Mr. Crowther, the Curator 

 in Leeds, in lecturing to the schools, which systematically visit the 

 museum ; and considering the great value of such work he 

 strongly advocated its extension, with payment by the local 

 authorities for the additional labour thus thrown upon the 

 Curator. " This work," said Mr. Johnson, "is at any rate as 

 well worthy of this support as are free libraries, or municipal 

 bands, or art-galleries." 54 



Apart from formal lectures and demonstrations, a visitor to 

 a Museum would often be glad of a description of some 

 particular object, or group of specimens, of exceptional interest, 

 and would be quite willing to pay a small fee for such a 

 description by some competent person. Prof. Anton Fritsch, 

 of Prague, has playfully suggested that the day may come when 

 a visitor, standing in front of some interesting specimen, will 

 have simply to drop a coin into a slot connected with a phono- 

 graph, and forthwith he will hear a short discourse on the 

 specimen in the very words, nay, even the very voice, of some 



52 Journal of a Tour and Residence in Great Britain, in, Ike years 1810-1811. 

 By Louis Simond. 1815. vol. i., p. 84. 



53 "On the difficulties incidental to Museum Demonstrations." Report Museum 

 Association, Cambridge Meeting, 1891, p. 71. 



54 Report British Association, Cambridge Meeting, 1904. 





