182 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



Entomologists and Entomology at Oxford. 



An ifivitation to the members of the Council of the Entomological 

 Society and the members of the Entomological Club, to visit Oxford, 

 by Professor E. B. Poulton, Hope Professor of Zoology, led to a 

 gathering of the clans, at the delightful old city, from July 2nd-4th. 

 In spite of the unsatisfactory state of the weather, a most enjoyable 

 time was spent, and, as usual, Professor and Mrs. Poulton, Dr. and 

 Mrs. Dixey, Dr. Longstaft", and Commander Walker did everything to 

 make the guests as happy and comfortable as possible. Most of the 

 visitors arrived on the Saturday afternoon, and soon found their way 

 to the Hope Museum, where they were able to pay their dutiful respects 

 to the host. To one who has not visited the Hope Mitseum for some 

 years, great changes were apparent, the collections have now assumed 

 a vastness that makes all the available rooms appear hopelessly 

 insufficient, the corridors are filled with cabinets, and still large collec- 

 tions are in hand for which house room, or rather cabinet room, has to 

 be found. 



The necessity of building a new series of rooms for the students 

 who are studying electricity, has recently set free one large well-lighted 

 room, at least 80ft. in length. This has been seized by the Hope 

 Professor for the extension of his work, and is now in process of being 

 dismantled, before the alterations are made that will enable it to 

 become a suitable as well as a welcome addition to the present rooms 

 that accommodate the collections. When this is ready for use, the 

 Hope Museum bids fair to compete with the National Museum, if not 

 in size, at least, in usefulness. 



This latter is the predominant note struck when one begins to 

 examine the material in the collection in detail. The system of 

 labelling makes most of the specimens of the highest scientific value, 

 and whether the specialist be studying variation, phenology, or 

 geographical distribution, he finds a wealth of accurately labelled 

 material which is of the greatest importance for his work. 



Everywhere the directing hand of the Professor is to be seen, and 

 the way in which he has eft'ected his purpose in making the Hope 

 Museum worthy of first rank among the entomological museums of 

 Europe is self-evident, whilst the support that he has received from 

 his co-workers and the curators under his charge is patent as soon as 

 one commences to dip into the collection. The Pierines have been 

 arranged by Dr. Dixey, and are, as may be supposed, in excellent 

 order, but, in the general collection, the exceedingly efficient work of 

 the three highly-trained curators- — Messrs. Holland, Hamm, and 

 Collins — is everywhere apparent ; it would be difficult to find three 

 more capable men, judged from the results of their labours, and adds 

 yet another proof of our contention that our large National Collection, 

 to be properly curated, requires a more effective staff, that each of the 

 senior members should have two or three curators of the type of those 

 at the Oxford Museum under his control, so as to deal, not only with 

 the arrangement of the collections, but in order to get the large amount 

 of undescribed material in the Museum put in order with the least 

 possible delay. It is a real pleasure to be moving about among so 

 much that lives in a Museum. 



Towards the end of the afternoon a pretty fair assembly of well- 



