BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY). 89 



IX. —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 1901. 



General Progress. 



Visitors. 



The total number of visits paid by the public to the 

 Natural History Museum in 1901 was 417,691, as compared 

 with 485,288 in the preceding year. It is noteworthy that, 

 although there is a considerable drop in the total number of 

 visitors, the record of Sunday attendances again shows an 

 increase, 57,797 visits having been recorded as against 56,302 

 in 1900. 



The average daily attendance for all open days during the 

 year was 1,157; for week-days only, 1,165; and for Sunday 

 afternoons, 1,111. 



Electric Light. 



Owing to the smallness of the grant for this service, but 

 slight progress has been made with the installation of the 

 electric light in the building since the last Report. 



Experiments have been made with various kinds of lamps 

 with a view to determining the best method of lighting the 

 public galleries. 



Swiney Lectures. 



Dr. John S. Flett has been appointed Lecturer on Geology 

 on the Swiney Foundation for a term of two years. His first 

 course of lectures was delivered, with the permission of the 

 Board of Education, in the lecture-theatre at the Victoria and 

 Albert Museum, during October, the subject being "The 

 Geological Evidences of Former Geographical Conditions." 

 The average attendance for the course of twelve lectures was 

 164 persons per lecture, as compared with 92 in -the preceding 

 year. 



Botanical Work Committee. 



The Report of the Departmental Committee on the 

 Botanical Work and Collections at the British Museum and 

 at Kew was issued in April, and referred by the Lords 



