THE 



MUSEUM GAZETTE. 



No. 8. DECEMBER, 1906. Vol. i. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



We differ toto ccelo from those who hold that museums in 

 villages or small towns ought to restrict themselves to local 

 objects. By all means have in all such museums the best 

 collection possible in illustration of what can be got in the 

 district, but let it be a department, not the whole affair. 

 What are called " Local Museums " are difficult to make 

 anything like complete, and the endeavour to make them so 

 may stimulate some of the worst vices of the mere collector. 

 However successful, they remain meagre and unattractive. 

 For educational purposes they cannot approach one of general 

 scope. The curators of such museums are like a wing-maimed 

 bird or a pugilist in shackles. As a rule, we fear that merely 

 local museums rarely attain the dignity of a curator, but 

 languish for a few years under an honorary secretary, who 

 once was zealous, and finally hand over to some more 

 liberally constituted institution the remains of the Herbarium, 

 and a few stuffed birds. It is better to do things well while 

 we are about them. 



That an Educational Museum need not neglect local col- 

 lecting was, we are proud to say, illustrated in the Exhibition 

 of Fungi which was made a month ago at Haslemere. Near 

 upon six hundred specimens were then shown in their fresh 

 state, and duly labelled. Next autumn we hope to repeat 

 the feat. It was attained under the guidance of the Museum 

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