l6 ON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS. 



attractive and instructive collection of mollusca, Crustacea, and 

 insects from all parts of the world. 



The very effective manner in which this collection is 

 displayed ought not to pass unnoticed. The molluscan shells, for 

 instance, are placed on cotton w T ool in trays, whilst the crust- 

 aceans are mounted on a sand-like floor ; nothing, too, can be 

 more clear and striking than the labelling — white letters being 

 used on a black ground with a vermilion border. Let it not be 

 thought that such details are too trivial for mention at a 

 scientific meeting ; on the contrary they are matters of the first 

 moment in rendering the collection attractive to visitors ; and it 

 is neglect of such small matters that has done much to bring 

 museums into ill repute. 



Whilst referring to the excellent manner in which the speci- 

 mens throughout the Museum are mounted, I should ill discharge 

 my duty if I made no mention of the labours of Mr. Whitehead, 

 Mr. Cole's assistant, to whose skill and taste in displaying the 

 specimens the Museum owes much of its attractiveness ; nor 

 should I omit reference to his wide range of knowledge and 

 scientific enthusiasm, which render his services of such great 

 value to the Institution. 



Part of the Invertebrate Collection is exhibited on the walls 

 of the staircase leading from the ground floor of the Museum to 

 the Gallery. Here will be found representatives of the great 

 groups of Ccelenteiata, Povifera, Echinodevmata and Vermes, mostly 

 preserved in spirit. Even the fugacious jelly-fish from Southend 

 is represented here. Nothing can be more effective than the 

 manner in which the soft organisms are mounted on sheets of 

 glass, with a suitable dark background, in rectangular glass jars. 

 In fact, the use of the parallel-sided jar instead of a cylinder, and 

 the employment of formalin as a preservative agent, have been 

 the means, in recent years, of displaying such objects in a manner 

 which contrasts most favourably with the unsatisfactory methods 

 of exhibiting " spirit specimens " in old-fashioned museums. 



The lower Vertebrata are represented by an excellent collection 

 of local Fishes, beautifully arranged in the alcove on the right 

 hand of the visitor as he enters the museum. Here are 

 numerous specimens, some stuffed and others preserved in spirit, 

 illustrating the fish-fauna, not only of the freshwaters of Essex, 

 but also of the shallow part of the North Sea which washes the 



