XXXVI REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK 



CURATOR'S REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK 



1914-1915 



In common with other institutions of every kind, the 

 Hancock Museum has had its working disturbed to a certain 

 extent by the war. In August there was some prospect of the 

 building being taken over for conversion into a hospital. This 

 danger did not materialize, but Armstrong College was less 

 fortunate, and it has fallen to us to provide temporary accom- 

 modation for some of the College departments. We are 

 housing the departments of zoology, botany and geology, as 

 well as a large section of the art school. This has meant 

 practically abandoning work for the time being in the east 

 and west corridors on both floors and in the back corridor ; 

 some other parts of the building are also given up to the use 

 of the students and staff, but happily, through general good- 

 will and considerateness, there have been no further difficulties, 

 and the main course of our work has hardly been interfered 

 with. The only important case in which we have had to 

 modify our plans is that of the whale's skeleton. This we had 

 just started to put together in the back corridor, and we cannot 

 proceed with it until the occupation of the corridor by the art 

 school comes to an end. 



For clearness, and in order to shorten a report written in 

 rather difficult circumstances, I will adopt again the plan 

 followed last year and make use of headings. 



Butterflies and Moths. A full account of Dr. Eltringham's 

 splendid collection was given in last year's report. During the 

 past year we have dipped further into the collection to make 

 up a few more cases of butterflies from special regions and to 

 select some exotic moths for exhibition. We have subsequently 

 re-arranged the large collection still remaining in the cabinets 

 and have thus gained some space for other uses. Our set of 

 British Lepidoptera for exhibition has been completed. We 

 are showing a full series of the butterflies and a representative 



