14 



What we do in the case of provincial Museums beyond getting 

 together a local collection must of course depend on our resources. 

 In very small towns and villages this is all that can be looked for. 

 Perhaps it may be thought that no village is likely to attempt 

 having a Museum at all. Yet there is an instance (and I believe 

 not a solitary instance) of one in the village of Wimbledon, where 

 a Museum was started a few years back on the very best princi- 

 ples, strictly confining itself to local objects, and giving great care 

 to the proper arrangement' of the specimens; with which, moreover, 

 has been associated a small library of books on Natural Science, a 

 record of interesting facts in the subject, and a Meteorological 

 Register. I have not seen this Museum myself, but I have been 

 told by those acquainted Avith it that it works well and fully carries 

 out the pui'poses it has in view. The Treasurer of the Museum 

 has also published a small work, in which he has detailed the plan 

 upon which it has been established, given the rules laid down by 

 the Committee, as well as furnished hints for the formation of 

 Local Museums in general, which deserves to be consulted by all 

 who are connected with such Institutions when necessarily on a 

 small scale. --^ ■ ,§ui.tEc.iI,>ai '-ihtn -ton - Ttiniflr. *)o -. 



Instead of being confi!ned to the productions o^ the neighbour- 

 hood, a j)rovincial Museum may be extended to the productions of 

 Great Britain in general, if space allow, though it would Ijc always 

 desirable to keep the local specimens separate, or specially 

 ticketed, so that they may be at once distinguished from the others. 

 These are what naturalists from a distance visiting the place 

 would most desire to see, in order to trace their relationshij^s to 

 the animals and vegetables of their own districts, and they Avould 

 see them to more advantage if not mixed up with other collections. 



* The title of the work is "Hints on the Formation of Local 

 Museums." 12mo. Loudon, 18C3. One of the rules is that — "No 

 object be received into the Museum, unless found within a radius of five 

 miles from the parish Church." 



