120 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



British Museum (Natural History). 



STATEMENT of Progress made in the Arrangement and 

 Description of the Collections, and Account of Objects 

 added to them, in the Year 1913. 



General Progress. 



Visitors. 



The total number of visits made by the public to the 

 Natural History Museum during 1913 was 486,320, as compared 

 with 455,613 in 1912, an increase of over 30,000. 



The attendance on Sunday afternoons was 53,301, as against 

 50,765 in the previous year. 



The average daily attendance for all open days was 1,339 ; 

 for week days only, 1,392 ; and for Sunday afternoons, 1,025, 



Siuiney Lectures. 

 Dr. Jehu gave his fifth and final course of Swiney Lectures 

 on Geology during November and December, the subject being 

 " The Natural History of Minerals and Ores." 



The lectures were delivered in the Metallurgical Lecture 

 "Theatre in the Exhibition Road, by permission of the autho- 

 rities of the Imperial College of Science and Technology. 



The total number of attendances for the 12 lectures was 

 1,177, an average of 98 persons per lecture. 



The Trustees have appointed Dr. J. D. Falconer, F.R.S.E., 

 Lecturer in Geography at the University of Glasgow, to succeed 

 Dr. Jehu as Swiney Lecturer on Geology for the two years, 

 1914-15, and he will give a course of lectures on "Land Forms 

 and Landscapes : Origin and Classification," in November and 

 December next. 



: V Electric Lighting : Extension of Hours of Opening. 



Electric light having been installed in the public galleries 

 on the ground floor, these galleries have been kept open 

 to the public till 5 o'clock daily, except Sundays, since the 

 1st December. 



Destructive Action of Light. 



For the better protection of the specimens, dark blinds 

 have been fitted to the windows of the Bird Gallery and the 

 Mammal Galleries, so as to exclude all light during the time 

 that the galleries are closed. 



Experiments are being continued with special kinds of 

 glass manufactured for anti-fading purposes, with a view to 



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