260 REPORT ON MUSEUM WORK 



presented by Mr. H. V. Charlton. To our great regret we 

 were eventually obliged to abandon the upright tank which 

 had cost us so much time and labour, and to content ourselves 

 with showing the animal lying horizontally. For showing it 

 in this position we were able to get a satisfactory tank made 

 in teak, with plate-glass sides and top. 



The experiment was tried last year of maintaining all 

 through the summer an exhibition of fresh wild flowers. By 

 the kindness of the members and others who collected for us 

 we were able to carry it out successfully, and it was so much 

 appreciated by visitors that we decided if possible to repeat it. 

 This we have happily been able to do. From the latter part 

 of April onwards there has been a continuous exhibit of wild 

 flowers arranged along the counter in the entrance hall, and 

 again the public have made much use of it. The amount of 

 time which has to be spent upon the flowers is considerable, 

 but the result seems to be distinctly worth it, and if the effort 

 is as kindly supported in future as it has been during these 

 two summers we hope to make the wild flower exhibition an 

 annual feature of our work. 



A large amount of excellent work has been done during the 

 year upon the collection of minerals, in this case carried out 

 almost entirely by one of the honorary curators, Mr. P. 

 Walther. It is difficult to give an adequate idea of the extent 

 and value of Mr. Walther's labours. He has examined an 

 immense quantity of stored material, showing us what could 

 be thrown away, what reserved for exchange, and what should 

 be added to the collection. In the collection itself he has 

 relieved much of the overcrowding by taking out unimportant 

 specimens, and in a large number of doubtful cases he has 

 settled the identity of minerals by analysis. The exhibited 

 collection has been rendered much more reliable by the 

 elimination of mistakes in identification and labelling, and 

 among the specimens brought to light by Mr. Walther in the 

 storeroom and elsewhere were many that were of very con- 

 siderable value. At present Mr. Walther has plans in hand 

 for further systematizing the arrangement and labelling of the 



