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MUSEUMS. 9 



A. DERBY MUSEUM. 



The Entrance Hall and Galleries. 

 (British Collections.) 

 Considerable progress has been ma<ie in preparing the Bays and 

 Galleries of the Entrance Hall for the reception of the collections 

 illustrating the British, and especially the Local, Fauna, Flora, Geology 

 and Geography. To receive these collections, new cases for two of the 

 bays have been constructed, and the remainder are already ordered. On 

 the floor of the Hall several new bird groups have been added to those 

 already there. The walls in the Bays, which were of a deep maroon 

 colour, absorbing a great deal of light, have been painted of a lighter 

 tint, with distinct advantaoe to the brightness of the Hall. 



The cases in the galleries surrounding it, which were distempered of 

 the intenspst blue, have been washed down and also re-coloured a 

 French-grey tint, with the result of increasing the light in this part 

 of the Museum. The Paloeontological Collections, which occupied the 

 wall cases of these galleries, will be removed and incorporated among 

 the groups in the general collection to which they belong, to give place 

 for the rest of the British collection. Preparations are being made to 

 display in the balustrade cases picked examples of the British Flora. 



Zoological Department. 

 (a) General. 

 The vacancy caused by the death of Mr. R. Paden was filled up in 

 January by the appointment of Mr. Joseph A. Clubb, a Bachelor in 

 Science of Victoria University, as Assistant Curator. At the same time 

 a re-arrangement of the staff was made, whereby the scientific officers 

 were entirely freed from the clerical duties which had occupied more of 

 their time than was desirable. The appointment of a Laboratory 

 Assistant, which was also sanctioned during the past year, has added 

 greatly to the advancement of the work in the Museum, especially in 

 the preparation of Photographic Slides for the illustration of the 

 Evening Lectures, and in making enlargements for illustrating different 

 parts of the Collections. 



The entire lack of Laboratory accommodation, however, — apparently 

 quite forgotten in the construction of the Museum — has proved a great 

 draw-back. In consequence, the investigation of many of the numerous 



