MUSEUMS. ' 



Perthshire, wliere many highly interesting and suggestive new features 

 in Museum arrangement and fittings vfcn seen and examined, under 

 the guidance of the President of the Society (Mr. Henry Coates), 

 and the Curator of the Museum (Mr. Rodgers). 



The Director likewise represented the Museums at the Meeting of the 

 British Association, held in Liverpool, in September, under the 

 Presidency of Sir Joseph Lister, Bart, (now Lord Lister). Leave 

 of absence was also given to the Assistants, to allow of their attending 

 the Sectional Meetings. 



On that occasion the Geological Section ' Section C) met in the Small 

 Lecture Theatre, adjoining the Geological C allery of the Museum, under 

 the Presidency of Mr. J. E. Marr, f.r.s. At the Conversazione on the 

 evening of the 22nd September, in the a:liliated Institutions, various 

 interesting exhibitions were held. Li Bird Gallery No. 4, Professor 

 Oliver Lodge, f.r.s., gave a demonstration of the X Rays; in the 

 Egyptian Gallery, Mr. Whittle showed Foucault's experiment 

 demonstrating ocularly the rotation of the earth by a pendulum 

 suspended from the roof of the Mayer Museum, improved by a mechanism 

 devised by the exhibitor for accelerating its amplitude without disturbing 

 the plane of its motion. In the Aquarium several Electric Fishes 

 (Malapterurus electriciis) ; a number of Mud Fishes (Protopterus 

 annectens); an example of the Calabar Polypterus (Calamoichthys 

 calaharicvs) ; and a group of Walking Fishes (Periophthalmus koelreuteri) 

 were on view. The two last exhibits attracted special attention from the 

 ichthyologists attending the Association, on account of their rarity. 



The Museums were open on twenty-six Monday evenings during the 

 periods of January to March, and October to December, when the total 

 attendances were 10,030, giving an average of 385 each evening, which 

 is an increase on the previous year's attendance. 



Among those who have visited the Museums for study, research, or 

 special inspection, are the following : — 



Rev. Canon Jessopp, D.D., Rev. Canon Tristram, D.D., F.R.S., 

 Ernest Van den Bioeck, Musee Royal de Histoire Naturelle, Bruxelles ; 

 Rear-Admiral Lowther, St. Leonards; Fleet Surgeon Palmer, E.N. ; 

 Herbert B. Adams, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, U.S.A. ; 

 E. J. Allen, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth; Professor 

 A. B. Macallum, Toronto ; Dr. Hjalmar Stolpe, Stockholm ; Sir William 



