ii THE MUSEUMS ASSOCIATION 31 



Though the first duty of museums is, without question, 

 to preserve the evidence upon which the history of mankind 

 and the knowledge of science is based, any one acquainted 

 with the numerous succession of essays, addresses, lectures, 

 and papers, which constitute the museum literature of the 

 last thirty years, must recognise the gradual development of 

 the conception that the museum of the future is to have for 

 its complete ideal, not only the simple preservation of the 

 objects contained in it, but also their arrangement in such a 

 manner as to provide for the instruction of those who visit 

 it. The value of a museum will be tested not only by its 

 contents, but by the treatment of those contents as a means 

 of the advancement of knowledge. Though this is the 

 general consensus of opinion, as expressed in the literature 

 just referred to, there is naturally still much divergence as 

 to the best methods by which this ideal may be carried out, 

 and there are still many practical difficulties to be overcome 

 before the views so ably advocated on paper can be reduced 

 to the test of actual performance. It is with a hope of 

 assisting in the solution of these difficulties that this Associa- 

 tion has been founded. 



If in the few words with which I am expected to preface 

 the real work of the meeting I shall be found to dwell too 

 exclusively upon ithe subject of natural history museums, 

 I must apologise to many friends and members of the 

 Association who are present. It must be distinctly under- 

 stood that under the word museum we include collections 

 of all kinds formed for the advancement of any branch of 

 knowledge, except those specially devoted to books, which 

 already are cared for by the " Library Association " on the 

 model of which ours was formed. I hope that in our papers 

 at this meeting and in future presidential addresses we shall 

 have all branches of museum work fairly represented. 



It is my fate to have been born what is commonly called 

 a " naturalist." I hardly remember the time when I was 

 not a possessor of a museum, but it always took a distinctly 

 biological direction. Hence, although by no means unap- 

 preciative of other branches of museum work, I shall confine 

 myself chiefly to that part of the subject upon which I can 



