PROVINCIAL MUSEUM REPORT 



FOR THE YEAR 1912. 



Early in January the interior of the Museum was painted and thoroughly renovated; 

 this was badly needed, and was made more necessary on account of having to move the 

 bird-cases from the walls in order to make more space to accommodate four new bird-cases, 

 which were made under the supervision of the Government carpenter on the premises. 



The new arrangement of the cases on the upper floor made considerably more room, and 

 I consider the arrangement much better. The collection of birds was thoroughly gone over, 

 rearranged, labelled, and a large number of specimens added. Several new mammals have 

 also been added to the ground-floor, and a large number of heads have been mounted and 

 hung on the walls, of which some are records. 



At present all the specimens in the Museum are too overcrowded to allow visitors to 

 properly inspect them, and I have had to defer the mounting of any more mammals or groups 

 until such time as we have space ; therefore, most of the work performed in the workshop at 

 present is confined to preserving the specimens and placing them in storage (which is also 

 limited). 



During the spring I made a trip to the interior and secured heads of the local mammals ; 

 a number of these were mounted and hung on the walls at the Government House by request 

 of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. A collection of heads is also in preparation for the 

 Agent-General's office in London, which will be of great interest and value to British Columbia. 



The correspondence in the Curator's office is increasing, and keeps in touch with all the 

 leading museums. 



A great many applications have been made by school-teachers (more especially in the 

 L nited States) for copies of the Natural History Bulletins to be used in their nature 

 studies. Considerable correspondence is carried on with the people of the Province in 

 regard to our native fauna. 



A number of books and pamphlets have been received for the Museum Library from 

 various museums in the United States and the United Kingdom, referring to the study of 

 natural history in all its branches. 



Dr. C. F. Xewcombe has continued his research, and also in collecting anthropological 

 material relating to the aboriginal races of the Province, and has secured a large collection 

 of specimens (which have been placed in storage), together with data of the various tribes. 

 The Anthropological Department is at present receiving special attention, before it becomes 

 too late to gather all the material and information relative to the Indians of British Columbia 

 (which at one time was a great race). I would like to suggest, if it were possible to interest 

 a few, if not all, of our road foremen, surveyors, and engineers in construction camps 

 that they look out for archaeological specimens and forward them to the Provincial Museum ; 

 their doing so would greatly assist us in our efforts to retain for this Province valuable specimens, 

 which otherwise may be taken out and lost to us for ever. 



The Provincial Museum has been very fortunate in having the co-operation of two of 

 the experts from the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, D.C. — N. Hollister, of the 

 Division of Mammals, and J. H. Biley, of the Division of Birds — who accompanied Director 

 A 0. Wheeler, of the Alpine Club of Canada, on an expedition to the Yellowhead Pass and 



