BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) 15 



GENERAL PROGRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL 



HISTORY). 



The King's Silver Jubilee Medal was bestowed upon Dr. C. Tate 

 Regan, F.R.S., Dr. W. T. Caiman, F.R.S., and Capt. T. J. Dudley, Super- 

 intendent, and in the Birthday Honours list Dr. Caiman received a 

 Companionship of the Bath. 



The total number of visitors to the British Museum (Natural History) 

 durmg 1935 was 666,147 as compared with 631,782 in 1934, which was a 

 larger number than in any previous year. Thus for the fourth year in 

 succession the attendance has exceeded all previous records. The visitors 

 on Sunday afternoons numbered 120,342 as against 108,240 last year. The 

 total number of visitors attending the tours of the official Guide -Lecturers 

 during 1935 was 24,890, being an increase of 3,114 on the figure for 1934. 



The Museum began during the autumn to co-operate with the British 

 Broadcasting Corporation in connexion with the Biology Course broad- 

 cast for schools, arrangements being made for the lectures to be received 

 in the Board Room for the benefit of such school parties as desired to 

 attend. The broadcast is followed by tours conducted by a Guide - 

 Lecturer, who demonstrates exhibits illustrating the lectures. 



The Treasury agreed to the inclusion in the estimates for 1936 of 

 provision for the recruitment of five additional Assistant Keepers, four 

 Technical Assistants (First Class), and seven subordinate posts. 



The Museum took over from H.M. Office of Works in December the 

 first half of the new Western Block and the final section of the New 

 Spirit Building. 



Exhibition Galleries. 



The portrait of Sir Richard Owen, painted by WilUam Holman-Hunt 

 in 1881, was hung on a pier in the Central Hall near the main entrance, 

 pending the finding of a more suitable permanent position for it. 



The Whale Hall was opened to the public at the beginning of the year, 

 but for the last three months a portion of the Hall was set aside for an 

 exhibition of photographs of wild mammals and birds, organised by the 

 proprietors of " Country Life." This exhibition attracted much atten- 

 tion. Progress was made in the arrangement of exhibits in the Hall, 

 and two large skeletons, of the Greenland Whale and the Pacific Grey 

 Whale, were placed in position. For exhibition in the British Pavilion 

 specimens of pine martens, stoats, and weasels were dyed for the purpose 

 of overcoming the fading which results from exposure to daylight. In 

 the Lower Mammal Gallery considerable progress was made in re- 

 arranging the exhibits, and in providing new ground- work for the cases. 

 The re -arrangement of the exhibits of Coeienterata and sponges was 

 carried on, and in the other zoological galleries minor changes and replace- 

 ments were made. 



In the Department of Entomology no changes were made in the 

 exhibited series during the year. 



ft 



