KE'POKr ON iMUbKUM WUHK XXXIX 



CURATOR'S REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK. 

 1917-1918. 



As was the case last year the Curator's work in the Museum 

 has been mainly in the direction of renovation and rearrange- 

 ment. It would be quite impossible in any one year to go 

 entirely through the collections, but each year a large number 

 receive neede(i attention, and we endeavour to ensure that no 

 part of our extensive collections, in so many departments, 

 shall be long neglected. 



During the past twelve months most of the Store Cupboards 

 have been turned out and their contents examined ; the 

 Zoology Wall Cases have been thoroughly renovated, and each 

 object separately cleaned j^ the Wingate Collection of Diptera, 

 the Rev. J. E. Hull's British Spiders, the Hancock Collection 

 of Birds' Eggs and Nests, the Angas Collection of Shells, the 

 Charlton Collection of Bird .Skins and other natural history 

 objects, several collections of Butterflies and Moths, including 

 the splendid Raine Collection and many of Dr. Eltringham's, 

 Miss Lebour's large collection of Foreign Shells, Dr. Brady's 

 spirit specimens of Entomostraca, &c., and his large collection 

 of microscopic slides, as well as many other objects in the 

 Museum have all had attention during the year. The Desk 

 Cases in the Geology Room have been gone through, every 

 specimen cleaned, some of the cases rearranged, and much 

 new labelling done. The Library has again been overhauled, 

 all the books and shelves cleaned, and the books checked off 

 with the Typed Catalogue. The work of looking up and 

 sorting the very numerous Transactions of Learned Societies 

 has been continued, but its completion will be a matter of 

 years, in the very limited time it is possible to devote to it. 



The attendance of visitors to the Museum has again been 

 encouraging, and the numbers, especially at holiday times, show 

 a marked tendency to increase. Each of the special holidays of 

 the year, Easter, Whitsuntide, Race Week, the August Bank 

 Holiday, the School Holiday in October, and Christmas and 



