BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY). 107 



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 1914. 



General Progress. 



Visitors. 



The total number of visits made by the public to the 

 Natural History Museum during 1914 was 420,914, as compared 

 with 486,320 in 1913. 



The attendance on Sunday afternoons was 46,960, as against 

 53,301 in the previous year. 



The average daily attendance for all open days was 1,159; 

 for week days, 1,195 ; and for Sunday afternoons, 903. 



There was a large falling off in the number of visitors from 

 the date of the outbreak of the war, and the total decrease may 

 be attributed to that cause. 



Official Guide. 



The services of the Official Guide (Mr. J. H. Leonard) 

 continue to be much in request. During 1914 over 14,000 

 persons attended his demonstrations, and since his first appoint- 

 ment on May 20, 1912, 38,423 persons had been conducted by 

 him through the galleries up to the end of last year. 



Arrangements were made with the London County Council 

 for Mr. Leonard to conduct parties of L.C.C. School Teachers 

 over the Museum on Saturday mornings, these visits extending 

 over a period of about 18 weeks. 



Siviney Lectures. 



Dr. J. D. Falconer gave his first course of Swiney Lectures 

 on Geology during November and December, the subject being 

 " Land Forms and Landscapes : their origin and classification." 



The lectures, twelve in number, were delivered in the 

 theatre in theVictoria and Albert Museum, with the permission 

 of the Board of Education, and were attended by an average 

 of 122 persons per lecture, as compared with 98 in the previous 

 year. 



Dr. Falconer's next course of lectures on this foundation 

 will be given in November and December next, the subject 

 selected being " Ice and the Ice Age." 



