The Zoologist — July, 1874. 4057 



of confusion, for there are sorae very good specimens in the col- 

 lection. 



With a view of seeing how other places managed their ornitho- 

 logical department, I visited every museum T came across last 

 summer, and as it may be interesting to some to know the state 

 that a few of the English museums are in, I give the result of my 

 inquiries. 



At the Hartley Institution, at Southampton, I hoped to obtain 

 some valuable hints, but I was disappointed; for the birds had 

 been arranged some time ago, and seemed to follow Cuvier's 

 arrangement as much as any. The foreign birds were in the same 

 case as those of the British Isles, — I use this phrase in its fullest 

 extent, — and they were all mixed up together. The birds are on 

 stands in a case against the wall ; but it was rather difficult to 

 find any particular bird one wanted, as the next of kin were 

 divided by foreign birds, which were evidently thought to be 

 nearer allied. I also noticed one or two birds wrongly named ; 

 but they seemed taken care of and in good preservation. What 

 struck me most was the way the tickets were put on, a neat con- 

 trivance of wire holding each ticket just in front of the bird, but 

 not hiding it. Here, as in most museums, I found how the 

 ornithological department had better 7iot be arranged. 



At Ryde there are a goodly quantity of birds, but without any 

 arrangement: they are in separate cases, which are piled up one 

 on top of the other: it was impossible to see them without walking 

 on the chairs. The person in charge amused me : he was very 

 much disgusted at my knowing an albatross without looking at the 

 name, and exclaimed, contemptuously, " Then you got it out 

 o' books!" But he was greatly relieved when he found 

 that I had never seen them flying — for he had. If the Ryde 

 Museum was put to rights it would exhibit a very fair ornitho- 

 logical department; but here, as in many cases, the motto is, 

 " Take care of the fossils and the ' fowls ' will take care of 

 themselves." 



At Chichester the birds are on stands in cases against the wall : 

 they are well arranged and named, though rather dusty now. 

 Here I offended the curator by asking if the cases had been dusted 

 lately. They had not: that was all that vvas wanting. The 

 foreign birds were in different rooms. The cases were rather too 

 high, as it vvas not easy to see the upper shelf without a chair to 



