74 



The Irish Naturalist. 



April, 



as dust-proof as many in much more pretentious museums. 

 The main collections — mammals, birds, &c — are arranged 

 along the blank wall of the room, while special subjects are 

 illustrated in sloping cases at each window and .show-tables 

 dov/n the centre of the room 



The task of planning, as well as collecting for, and filling 

 the cases was entrusted by the managers of the Palace to Mr. 

 Robert Patterson, F.Z.S., M.R.I. A., who accepted the post of 

 Hon. Curator. He was assisted by a staff of willing helpers 

 from the local Field Club, who, as far as possible, undertook 

 some branch they had specially .studied. The work was entirely 

 a labour of love, and the material obtained was generously 

 given by a large number of friends. Space prohibits 

 more than the mention of the more important donations : — 

 The Department of Agriculture, per Dr. Scharff, National 

 Museum, Dublin, 150 animals, mounted or preserved in 

 spirits; Sir R. Lloyd Patterson, 47 mounted birds and mammals ; 

 Messrs. Williams & Son, Dublin, 25 mounted birds ; Robert 

 Patterson, 50 mounted birds, 3 mammals, 28 nests, foreign 

 shells, &c. ; D. C Campbell, Indian butterflies, life-history and 

 mimicry cases ; Rev. W. F. Johnson, Irish beetles and butter- 

 . flies ; W. A. Green, large collection of Irish land and fresh- 

 water shells ; R. Welch, .shells, shell deposits and photographs ; 

 Messrs. C. E. Wright, N. H. Foster, W. Keatley, J. Cottney, 

 and Miss C, Patterson, large collections of birds' eggs ; George 

 Donaldson, North American butterflies ; Ven. Archdeacon 

 Bristow, 2. cabinet of eggs, butterflies^ and beetles, &c. ; P. F. 

 Gulbransen, a herbarium of over 8co local plants, &c. ; J. W. 

 Taylor, Leeds, collection of foreign land and fresh-water 

 shells ; W. Gray, ancient Irish implements, local rocks, &c. 

 All the specimens are donations, not one has been purchased 

 so far, some diagrams on the walls representing the entire 

 amount spent by the Hon. Curator. The collections could 

 not be — so early in the history of the Museum — equally repre- 

 sentative ; there are, however, several features in the display 

 of them that are admirable, and that promise well for the 

 future. In the first place the labelling is more extensive than 

 is usual in provincial museums. An effort has been made to 

 give some account of every specimen in plain English. The 

 labels (nearly 800 in number) are printed, or typewritten in 



