THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 133 
United States and various places in Canada. We are not the only 
collectors. Stray professors occasionally pay us a visit, and carry 
off many interesting fossils. Numbers of the local organic remains 
have never been described ; a public display of such may be injudi- 
cious. No department in scientific research can rest satisfied with 
what has already been accomplished; so let us have a marked 
improvement all along the line, if possible. I lately received from 
the city of Bath, England, an account of the annual meeting of The 
Royal Literary and Scientific Institute there. The society is 
supposed to have the best scientific library outside London. All 
the speakers expressed regret that the institution had, apparently, 
gradually ceased to be attractive. This was attributed by a few 
members to keen competition, rival institutions, and other matters 
that had little, if anything, to do with its failure. ‘‘ Ladies and 
gentlemen, you require to popularize the whole concern; it must 
keep pace with the times—must adopt a progressive policy. Weed 
out your library; provide useful books for reference. Zhe porter 
who dusts them once a year ts the only person who ever touches any of 
the works on these shelves,” remarked a member to the highly-conser- 
vative committee. “You cannot afford to stand still.” One old 
general left the room, it is said, wondering what they were coming to, 
and declaring he had no intention of remaining any longer where 
such revolutionary doctrines were openly expressed. There exists 
no necessity for discarding the valuable works bequeathed to us by 
their honored donors. Such ought to be retained, but instead of 
loading our shelves with matter never consulted by any chance, 
would it not be advisable to select a few useful modern works for 
reference for our respective sections ? 
Well-intentioned as the invitation was to open the Museum on 
Saturday afternoon, few have availed themselves of it. Workingmen 
can scarcely be expected to do so when it means the loss of half a 
day’s pay. It may be worthy of consideration whether it may not be 
as well to include Dominion Day, and other holidays as well. 
I have always held that Dr. Selwyn was quite right in stating 
“museums are places not of amusement, but instruction,” and no 
valid objection can be urged to the display of the impressions of the 
footprints of the Creator and work of His hands on Sundays. I feel 
in Canada the time has not come for this, but the London Times, 
the organ of middle-class respectability, recently furnished its readers 
