48 accounts, etc., of the british museum. 



British Museum (Natural History). 



STATEMENT o£ Progress made in the Arrangement and 

 Description o£ the Collections, and Account o£ Objects 

 added to them, in the Year 1916. 



General Progress. 

 Visitors. 



The total number o£ visits made by the public to the Natural 

 History Museum during 1916 was 402,673, as compared with 

 433,581 in 1915. 



The attendance on Sunday afternoons was 43,414, as against 

 48,409 in the previous year. 



The average daily attendance lor all open days was 1,106 ; 

 for week-days, 1,155 ; and for Sunday afternoons, 819. 



To meet the wishes of His Majesty's Government some of the 

 Geological Galleries are closed to the public for the duration of 

 the war ; but the Central Hall and certain of the Zoological 

 Galleries are open to the public daily, and other parts of the Museum 

 on alternate days. 



Swiney Lectures. 



Dr. J. D. Falconer having relinquished his appointment as 

 Swiney Lecturer in order to take up a temporary administrative 

 post in Nigeria, Dr. J. S. Flett was appointed to give the course 

 of Swiney lectures in November and December of 1916. The 

 subject on this occasion was " The Mineral Resources of Europe." 

 The lectures, twelve in number, were delivered at the Royal Society 

 of Arts, the theatre at the Victoria and Albert Museum not being 

 available, and were attended, on an average, by 96 persons a lecture. 



Museums Association. 



The Museum was again represented by Dr. F. A. Bather at the 

 Annual Meeting of the Museums Association, held at Ipswich in 

 July. Among the subjects discussed was the prospect of organising 

 a scheme with a view to museums in this country combining 

 to obtain from home manufacturers all museum apparatus, such as 

 rectangular glass jars, hitherto chiefly supplied by Germany. 



Special Exhibition. 

 An exhibition of " Trout-flies " (the natural insects and the 

 artificial " flies " used as bait by anglers), presented by Mr. Martin 

 H. Mosely, has been arranged and placed in the Insect Gallery. 



The War and the Museum, Staf. 



At the end of 1916, 59 members of the stafE of the Natural 

 History Museum were serving with the Naval and Military forces. 

 In addition, 12 Museum men have joined the Volunteers [1st 



