INTRODUCTION. XV. 



advance in Natural History made in the present, or perhaps 

 in any, generation, has been mainly accomplished by two 

 observers, who are pre-eminently life-historians and out-of- 

 door naturalists. 



Little need be said of the miscellaneous illustrations con- 

 tained in the upright portions of the table cases. They seem 

 to be very successful in engaging the attention of visitors 

 of all classes— a point which is felt to be of prominent 

 importance where the admissions amount, taking the average 

 of open days throughout the year, to about 2,000 daily. 

 What brings them here ? is a question which again and again 

 suggests itself. Reduce the number by all the idlers and 

 mere sight-seers who, no doubt, constitute a large proportion 

 of the gathering ; still, if only one hundred or even fifty per 

 day seek some kind of instruction, even these in the course of 

 a year form a large and teachable class. As a firm believer 

 in the humanising eifect of an intelligent interest in Natural 

 Science, to myself the grand museum problem seems to be, 

 how to make such an institution most beneficial to the great- 

 est number. 



In estimating the value to the public of a Museum of 

 Natural History, the speciality of its function should not be 

 overlooked. It occupies a position quite peculiar to itself, 

 and does, or claims to do, what in its absence must be left 

 undone. Many may desire to look upon the wondrous forms 

 which constitute the population of the sea, the lake, the 

 river, the forest, or the grassy plain, but it is only in very 

 rare instances that such far-ofi" dwelling places can be explored 

 by those whose lot is cast in the busy centres of social life. 

 The Museum is the best, if not the only, resource. 



It is not thus in the departments of Natural Philosophy 

 and Art. Chemistry, Mechanics, and other allied branches of 

 knowledge, lead so directly to practical advantages, that 



