102 



NATURE 



[March 25, 1920 



eleven in the lower g;-ade (300^.-500/.) and three 

 above; in the Science Museum the numbers are three 

 and six; and in the Geological Survey twenty and ten. 

 In the Natural History Museum there are thirty-two 

 graded up to 500L a year as against eight above. 

 The position in the latter is so bad that there has 

 been a constant leal'cage for many years from its 

 highly specialised staff into university and other 

 appointments, the salaries in which exceed those paid 

 in the museum. There is no abundant field of men 

 with private incomes and natural history tastes upon 

 which to draw. The fact that only about one man 

 in four or five who join the staff can hope ever to 

 receive an income above 500Z. a year prevents any 

 of the best students of universities from entering, 

 while the museum, as the basal institute of several 

 sciences in this country, demands the services of the 

 best men, and of the best men only. The Natural 

 History Museum is, furthermore, out of date in that, 

 while the sciences it represents have advanced, it has 

 taken little account of these advances ; its staff has 

 all the same duties as it had twenty or thirty years 

 ago, and, still numbering the same, can undertake 

 new duties only by neglecting older ones. It was 

 never intended to be a museum solely for education 

 and amusement, but the policy pursued in regard to 

 it in the last twenty years has neglected its other 

 sides in respect to research, and its assistants have 

 become more and more the cataloguers, arrangers, 

 and cleaners-up of specimens. The staff less and less 

 takes part in the proceedings of scientific societies 

 because it cannot afford to belong to them. 



May I suggest that the pay, position, and grading 

 of the staffs in all the above four institutions should 

 be those of the Home Civil Service, and that the 

 numbers in different grades should be the same as in 

 that Service? The prestige and position of the Civil 

 Service are such that it is an object of ambition to 

 the boy, and no lower position will attract the picked 

 students of science. J. Stanley Gardiner. 



Zoological Laboratory, Cambridge March 15. 



The timely leading article which appeared in 

 Nature of March 11 raises the very important ques- 

 tion of the future administration of the national 

 museums and art galleries of this country. With the 

 main recommendations of the article I am in com- 

 plete agreement. There is little doubt that the ad- 

 ministration of the national museums and art gal- 

 leries on federal lines from a central Government 

 Department would make for greater efficiency and 

 economy, obviate considerable overlapping, and 

 lead to the fuller use and development of the 

 unique collections housed within their walls. The 

 Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has 

 already assumed control of the Museum of Practical 

 Geology, and the machinery, therefore, for the ad- 

 ministration of the whole of our national museums 

 is already in existence, and only requires adapting 

 and expanding. 



Such a central Museum Department could be of the 

 greatest service to the provincial museums and art 

 galleries of the country if extended to include them 

 and link them all up in one comprehensive scheme. 

 At present the provincial museums are isolated. There 

 is a lack of co-ordination and co-operation in their 

 work, and they need the advice and assistance of a 

 central body to help them in their development. The 

 national museums between them cover the whole 

 field of museum activities, and their amalgamation 

 into a federal scheme would provide a Departmerit 

 able to deal with any branch of museum work, and 

 to render invaluable assistance to the provincial and 

 private museums throughout the country. 



NO, 2630, VOL. IO5I 



The National Gallery and the Tate Gallery would 

 supply the nucleus for fine arts, the British Museum 

 (Bloomsbury) for pre-history, anthropology, antiquities, 

 and numismatics, the British Museum (Natural 

 History) for natural history, the Victoria and Albert 

 Museum for industrial and applied art, and the 

 Imperial Science Museum for applied and techno- 

 logical science. 



It is sufficient to indicate one or two ways in 

 which the assistance of such a Department would be 

 of the highest value : 



(i) In the development of a comprehensive system 

 of circulating collections for all branches on the same 

 lines as is now done for industrial art by the Victoria 

 and Albert Museum. (2) The provision of a staff of 

 experts in all branches who could be placed at the 

 service of museums for specialist work on collections. 

 (3) The provision and circulation of approved casts 

 of important and rare specimens. (4) The standardisa- 

 tion of museum cases and fittings to allow of their 

 production on a cheaper and more efficient scale. 



A Department such as I have indicated, linking 

 up all the museums into one comprehensive 

 scheme, would lead to the co-ordination of museum 

 work throughout the country. The resources of 

 the museums for each and every available line of 

 research would be accurately known. The provincial 

 and private museums would benefit enormously by 

 having their collections accurately identified and 

 labelled, and be able to utilise and develop their 

 collections to the best advantage. By means of 

 the circulating collections the vast resources of 

 duplicate and reserve material in the national 

 museums would be rendered available and accessible 

 to the nation at large. 



The cost of such a scheme would not necessitate 

 an undue burden being placed on the State. 



(i) The Government museums are already provided 

 for by direct appropriations. The extension of their 

 work on the lines I have indicated would necessitate 

 larger staffs, but the labours of each expert would 

 not then be rigidly confined to the one museum to 

 which he was primarily attached. While the plan 

 would require organisation and co-operation, it does 

 not seem to involve any drastic change in the present 

 management or governance of such museums. 



(2) The public museums of the country could 

 remain, as at present, under the control of the local 

 governing bodies, and their financial resources be pro- 

 vided, as now, by the levy of a rate. 



(3) Private museums would need financial assist- 

 ance from the State, and this might be given in the 

 form of grants-in-aid based on the amount of money 

 provided bv the resources of such museums. 



The institution of a central Government Depart- 

 ment would naturallv necessitate Government control 

 and inspection of museums, but such control, wisely 

 and judiciouslv exercised, would stimulate their 

 develooment. The Department should clearlv recog- 

 nise that its function would be to help and advise 

 museums, not to hinder them by the imposition of 

 irksdme regulations. Museums should be encouraged 

 to oreserve their individuality and to develop along 

 their own lines. 



It is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to add that a 

 central Department should have as its chief executive 

 officers men trained in the various branches of 

 museum work, whose very training and experi- 

 ence would give them the necessary knowledge to 

 deal sympathetically with questions of museum 

 administration, and to foster that spirit of research 

 which -is fundamental to the proper development of 

 museums. W. M. Tattersall. 



The Museum. The Universitv, Manchester. 



