480 REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK. 



time and trouble formerly spent in the drilling of glass for this 

 purpose are now saved by the use of gelatine as a cement. 

 The various reference collections of insects and the Raine 

 collection of birds' eggs have been carefully examined and 

 cleaned ; and in connexion with this it may be mentioned that 

 there are now, framed and hung up in the museum, several 

 copies of a list of the museum reference collections, the object 

 being to make known the resources of the museum to those 

 visitors who could best make use of them. The list is re- 

 printed as an appendix to the report. 



Miss Conradi and her successor, Miss Welford, have made 

 good progress with the catalogue of the library. The slips 

 for the catalogue are all prepared, and are now mostly 

 arranged in readiness for the typing of the final copy. Miss 

 Conradi also did work on the shells, in relaxing and setting 

 butterflies, and in printing labels ; and in all these lines Miss 

 Welford has followed up the work very successfully. William 

 Voutt's chief work has been that described above upon the 

 Hancock bird cases ; but he has also at odd times printed a 

 number of labels, and has fitted false bottoms into the shell 

 cases, as well as cleaning glass and doing many other minor 

 jobs. Much of my own time has as usual been occupied by 

 proof-reading and other miscellaneous work. My proper 

 museum work has chiefly consisted in dealing with fresh 

 acquisitions, making out labels for printing, setting out the 

 new labels and re-arranging the contents of certain cases, 

 cleaning and treating the corroded shells, and revising the 

 library catalogue. 



Several members and others have given valuable help in 

 the museum work during the past year, and I beg here grate- 

 fully to acknowledge their kindness. Miss Lebour's revision 

 of the shell collection has already been referred to. Colonel 

 Adamson has sorted through a large quantity of unset Indian 

 butterflies which have long been lying in the storeroom ; he 

 has named them all, and has selected those that are of use to 

 the museum and others that may be used for exchange. The 

 work required much patience, but it is very satisfactory to 



