MUSEUMS. 41 



anthracite, arranged in the order mentioned. In addition there are 

 included specimens of characteristic coal fossils. The cabinet named 

 " Shells and their uses " contains specimens illustrating stages in 

 the manufacture of buttons, knife-handles, &c, together with the 

 shells from which they are taken (see Fig. 2). 



A series of cabinets is arranged so as to exemplify the characters 

 of the principal groups of the animal kingdom. In the " Star-fish 

 and Sea-urchin '* cabinet, a descriptive label draws attention 

 to the essential characters of the group of the Echinoderma, with re- 

 ferences to the specimens of star-fishes, sea-urchins and sea-cucum- 

 bers, contained in the cabinet. The coelenterous, molluscs, insects, 

 crustaceans, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are 

 similarly treated. Of the other cabinets, some are of a geological 

 character, illustrating " Bocks," " Polished Stones," &c. : and 

 others of a botanical character, illustrating " Palms and their 

 uses," " Dyes and Tans," " Textile Plants," &c. It is proposed 

 shortly to issue along with each cabinet a type-written or printed 

 description, which will serve as a guide to the teacher in giving 

 lessons on the cabinet to the children. 



(b) The Loan Collection, from which specimens of Natural History 

 are lent to teachers on application, consists of a series of the 

 commoner types, and has graduall}- been formed according to the 

 demands made for specimens — any object asked for, if jxissible, being 

 added from the duplicate specimens of the main collection, if not 

 already in it, so that the character of the Loan Collection has been 

 brought together entirely by the demand. Typical representatives of 

 the main animal Phyla ; the common British species of these groups : 

 comparative series of bird forms, with nests and eggs ; insects and 

 their life-histories, &c, constitute the greater portion of tin's collec- 

 tion. Application is made in writing bv Head Masters or Mistresses 

 and the specimens are taken away forthwith by their messenger, if 

 possible, or if not, in the course of a day or two. It is satisfactory to 

 record here also an increasing demand for specimens, and the Loan 

 Collection has in consequence been considerably enlarged during the 

 last year or two. That these efforts to interest school children in 

 Nature study are producing good results is strikingly dem< nitrated 



