ii8 NATURAL SCIENCE. August. 1895. 



provided with wooden terraced shelves), as we should expect when 

 we consider that Mr. Howse, the curator, is a well-known palae- 

 ontologist. The minerals are arranged conveniently under the heads 

 of the metals. A model showing the formation of the district, and 

 maps or sections would be valuable to the student of these collections. 



Enough has been said to show that the museum acts a worthy 

 national part in preserving so much valuable material to the country ; 

 that this material has been of considerable importance in furthering 

 the study of certain sections of natural science ; and that the cases 

 present an arrangement and display which make the museum an 

 important factor in the local work of higher education. Many 

 specialists have been attracted to it by the wealth of its collections 

 in the departments which it may be said to profess specially, and 

 which have been pointed out. A complaint is often made that the 

 museum is not much taken advantage of. But this cannot be 

 altogether true, for on holidays, at any rate, it is, I understand, well 

 attended. Little attempt, it must be said, has been made to attract 

 visitors by providing striking curios to look at ; and it is not at all 

 desirable to do so. Order and neatness in preserving, arranging, and 

 labelling are far more to be desired than cases designed to catch the 

 eye of the curious. A well-arranged case containing tastefully 

 prepared specimens is an attraction in itself, and the visitor will be 

 quite able to appreciate such. A museum must be considered as a 

 means for collecting and preserving material of value in the depart- 

 ments it professes, that this may be of use for the furtherance of 

 research in those departments. And such specimens as it may be 

 found convenient to exhibit should be so arranged and labelled that 

 the lesson they teach ma}' be easily read by those who will. Such an 

 arrangement is made with a distinct educative purpose, and not as a 

 show of curiosities. And looked at in this light, the Newcastle 

 Museum will be found to occupy a first-class place among provincial 

 museums. The curator is a cultured naturalist ; and the cases show 

 that the museum's taxidermist is a man who turns out splendid 

 work. 



Of course, it will easily be seen that the specimens on view 

 illustrate the natural bias of the individual collectors, and do not, on 

 that account, represent Nature's balance ; and this should be kept in 

 mind. There are also some developments which might be suggested 

 other than those pointed out above, but this is not the place to 

 do so. 



Alexander Meek. 



College of Science, Newcastle. 



