CORRESPONDING SOCIETIES. 787 



be readily seen, and they must be adequately labelled — all this in accordance 

 with principles which are nowadays well understood by every qualified museum 

 official. Complete reference collections of animals, plants, foesils, and the like 

 muet be forpjed and kept in cabinets accessible to those desiring to make use of 

 them for purposes of study. 



Here, I think, it is neceesary to consider the important and delicate question : 

 What ought to be the relations between the local museum and the national 

 museum? Broadly stated, the solution is to be found in the general principle, 

 what is of national importance should be preserved in the national museum ; 

 what is of merely local interest should be kept in the local museum. Like 

 many general principles, this is quite easy till we begin to apply it to particular 

 cases. These require judgment and tact for their successful negotiation. May 

 I give one single instance? In a remote part of the Celtic Fringe is a mass 

 of sand dunes which cover what was once a city of sufficient importance to 

 have a Royal Charter, a roll of burgesses, and a mace. In 1886 the corporation 

 was dissolved : the burgesses, their sons and widows, were each to receive the sum 

 of eleven shillings per annum, and the mace was kept in a public-house, where 

 it was produced for the inspection of anyone who cared to pay for a drink in 

 order to have a look at it. Such an arrangement had obvious dangers, and the 

 national museum naturally wished to have possession of the mace. It was found 

 that the burgesses had no power to give it, but they consented to deposit it 

 in the museum provided a replica were furnished to be kept in the public-house. 

 This was agreed to, and a replica, which is hardly distinguishable from the 

 original, was provided, and I am infonned by a recent visitor that the landlady 

 continues to exhibit it as the original, so that all parties are satisfied. 



It having been admitted that the formation and preservation of a local 

 collection is the prime duty of a local museum, and supposing this function to 

 be adequately discharged, should a local museum undertake any others? 1 

 should say, ' Certainly, if its means and opportunities allow,' and the possi- 

 bilities are many and various. One obvious way in which the museum can be 

 of the greatest service is by providing collections which shall give the visitor 

 a preliminary sketch of some department of knowledge. I allude to what are 

 often called ' index ' collections, though the term ' introductory ' collections 

 would be more appropriate. 



For instance, a larger or smaller collection, illustrating the animal kingdom, 

 would furnish a suitable preliminarv to a study of the local fauna ; a series of 

 specimens showing the technique of different processes of engraving, etching, 

 and mezzotint would furnish a valuable introduction to a collection of local 

 prints ; a number of obi'ects from different prehistoric and historic periods would 

 enable the visitor to place in their proper chronological relation the collections 

 of local archaeology ; and numerous other possibilities will readily suggest 

 themselves. 



Another direction in which a local museum may profitably develop is by 

 coming into direct connection with the educational system of the locality. This 

 may be done either by setting apart and furnishing a room for the special use 

 of school classes, or by providing topical collections, which can be lent to, or 

 circulated among, the schools. There is already an extensive literature on this 

 subject, so I need not enlarge further upon it, the more so a^ a committee of 

 this Association is actively engaged in studying the educational uses of museums. 



Furthermore, there is, to my mind, nothing out of place in a local museum 

 developing a special subject, quite disconnected with the locality, if it has the 

 power to do so without interfering with its proper work. Suppose, for example, 

 that some well-to-do citizen has acquired an important collection, say, of seven- 

 teenth-century furniture or Japanese works of art, which he is desirous of 

 giving or bequeathing to his native town. There is no objection to the museum 

 accepting such a gift and developing it to the best of its power. It will be_a 

 source of pride and delight to the inhabitants ; and, if it is not so to begin 

 with, may become a collection of real importance, which will attrnct specialists 

 to visit and study it, greatly to the advantage of the museum and the town. 



As instances of such collections may be mentioned the Ourney collection of 

 raptorial birds in the Norwich MuseiinT, and the Egyptian collections in the 

 Manchester Museum. 



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