44 MUSEUMS. 
The Museums are closed on Sundays and Fridays (except the 
Fridays of Whit-, Easter and Christmas Weeks) throughout the 
year, as well as on Christmas Day, and days of Public Fast and 
Thanksgiving. 
The Museums were not represented—and intercourse with one’s 
co-workers is always an advantage to an Institution with so many 
departments as this—at any of the usual scientific meetings of 
the year. 
The Director has, however, to acknowledge that, through the 
liberality of a private citizen, now deceased, he was enabled to attend 
the Pre-historic Congress of France at Autun, and to observe, with 
great advantage to his studies, many of the most interesting 
Paleolithic, Neolithic and Roman Settlements of Central France. 
Since 1896, a period of twelve years, 70,465 specimens of Natural 
History and 10,477 specimens of Ethnography, totalling over 80,000 
specimens, have been added to the collection, or on an average nearly 
7,000 additions per year. 
II.—VIsiITors. 
The following table shows the total number of visitors to the 
Museums during the year compared with that of the year 1906 :— 
1906. 1907. 
(263 Days.) (264 Days.) 
Total Visitors os te eee a 453,328 35: 466,328 
Weekly Average... soc eae oe 8,717 Sec 8,967 
Daily Average ae se so ore 1,723 So 1,766 
The attendance of school children under the charge of teachers 
has further increased, close upon 6,000 children and 150 teachers 
having availed themselves of the clause in the Education Code, - 
whereby time devoted to instruction in Museums reckons as school 
attendance. School teachers are making occasional use of the 
Museum theatre to give special lessons to their pupils—specimens 
being brought from the Museum cases for illustrating them. Such 
a course is found to be of greater educational value than merely a 
general visit with no specific object. Lectures and demonstrations 
have been given by members of the Staff, on arrangement having 
previously been made by the teachers with the Director. 
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SPR oh 
