ARRANGEMENT OF ORDERS AND FAMILIES. 333 



Zoology, Britisli Museum, lias kindly allowed me to quote his 

 views embodied in a letter to me. He says : 



I should recommend you to adopt the following' plan : Arranging the 

 general and British collections together, strictly systematically, receiving, 

 of the foreign animals, typical forms only, but making the British series 

 as complete as possible, and choosing in preference Leicestershire 

 animals when practicable. 



Excluding from the general series specially mounted objects, such as 

 groups of birds showing nidification, change of plumage, or illustrating 

 the habits of animals — such groups to be mounted on separate stands 

 in the middle of the room. 



I believe this plan would best meet the requirements in your museum. 



Having now something to work upon, the Museum Committee 

 rejected " Scheme A," whose weak points have been detailed at 

 length, and sanctioned "Scheme B" being carried out, which 

 not only separated " local " from " general," but provided for 

 the pictorial mounting of both. Taking, therefore, any of the 

 orders marked on the plan (see Plate) as an example, the best 

 known, and therefore " local " or " British " species of the 

 first family (or genera) of that order is selected, then the 

 least known or most striking "foreign" species of the same 

 family (or genera) to compare with it, and so on throughout. 

 Space being limited, however, species closely allied are not 

 always represented, but are collected as skins to fill up the 

 unavoidable blanks. In all cases, however, typical specimens of 

 the families and genera of animals are attempted to be shown, 

 and as many species as possible are collected as skins. 



The highest form of each order is placed at the top, the 

 next underneath, until the bottom of the case is arrived at, 

 then ascends again, forming a serpentine line, which, taking 

 the first order, Passeres, as an example, begins at the top of the 

 first case, and takes the song thrush — one of the " locals " — as 

 being of the first genera of the first family ; this is contrasted 

 by a "foreign" form of the same family (and genus), the 

 *' American Kobin," and thus runs on throughout the whole of 

 the wall-cases on that side of the room devoted to birds (see 

 Plan), until it ends at the ostrich, as being the last. It will 

 be seen by this that, although the so-called " local " birds are 



