THE HANCOCK MUSEUM AND ITS HISTORY XXlll 



a century filled the position of keeper of the museum. On his 

 retirement three-and-a-half years ago, Mr. Wright's faithful 

 services were gratefully and publicly acknowledged by the 

 Society ; and as honorary keeper he still continues to give the 

 staff the benefit of his great knowledge of everything that 

 concerns the institution and its traditions. 



In this article it will perhaps be useful to summarise very 

 rapidly some of the most noteworthy features of the Hancock 

 Museum as it stands to-day. Many of them have been 

 alluded to already, but from the chronological account it will 

 scarcely have been possible to form a connected view of the 

 whole. The most celebrated section of the museum is, of 

 course, that devoted to birds, and the special glory of that 

 section is John Hancock's collection of the birds of Britain; 

 In the general zoology room there are collections representing 

 all divisions of the animal kingdom, but at the present moment 

 the different portions are of very unequal merit. The collections 

 of shells and of corals are excellent ; good material is also in 

 hand for several other divisions, and these are being brought 

 into good order as rapidly as means will allow. The geological 

 department, though less attractive to the public, is as cele- 

 brated among specialists as the birds ; in addition to a very 

 good general series of fossils from rock-beds of all ages, this 

 department contains the noted collections of local fossils 

 referred to in previous articles — the Hutton Collection of Coal 

 Measure plants, the Atthey Collection of Coal Measure fishes 

 and amphibians, and the fine series of fossils from the local 

 Magnesian Limestone. Visitors to the museum must not 

 imagine, however, that the fossil room in its present form 

 represents what those responsible for it would like it to be. 

 The material is very good, but a vast amount of work will 

 have to be expended upon it before it is so exhibited as to 

 make the most of its excellencies and teach all that it might 

 teach. Another section which may be regarded as one of the 

 " strong points " of the museum is that of the minerals ; it is 

 certainly unusual to find such a series in a provincial museum. 

 The collection of Bewick's woodcuts and drawings is one the 



