34 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 represented by the Director at the Inter- 

 national Zoological Congress at Berne during August: and at the 

 Museums Association, which met at Norwich in July, to the Council 

 of which lie was re-elected to serve till 1907. 



Since 1896, a period of nine years, 55,971 specimens of Natural 

 History and 8,005 specimens of Ethnography, totalling close upon 

 64,000 specimens, have been added to (lie collection, or on an average 

 some what over 7,000 specimens per year. 



The Director has much pleasure in testifying to the care and 

 attention to duty given by all the members of his Staff. It 

 is with deep regret that he has to place on record the 

 death of Mr. F. P. Marrat, who died on the 5th of November last at 

 the advanced age of 84 years. He had been connected with the 

 Museums partly as an unattached assistant, and latterly as a member 

 of the permanent Staff for 4'J years, lie may be said to have died 

 in harness, for he was actively engaged upon, the work he took so 

 much interest in to within a very short time of his decease. He had a 

 specially intimate knowledge of Mollusca and of Mineralogy, and in 

 both groups he did much excellent work for the Museum. In the 

 former subject he described many new species during the course of 

 his life. The section dealing with the genus Oliva, in Sowerby's 

 "Thesaurus Conchyliorum," was written by him. lie was, 

 especiallv in his earlier days, an active member of several scientific 

 societies in Liverpool, and often contributed important papers at 

 their meetings. His faculties were unimpaired to the end, and his 

 colleagues can bear testimony to his wonderful memorv and the 

 help he was at all times ready to give in regard to the history of the 

 collections in the Museums. 



The re-arrangement of the Egyptian collections has now so far 

 advanced towards completion that the preparation of a Guide to the 

 Grallery has become possible. Such a hand-book, containing a short 





