1905- 



WKiyCH.— y4 New Irish Museum. 



75 



permanent ink, and are placed so as to be easily read. (See, 

 Plate 3.) Another point that deserves mention is the fact, 

 that the preparations are largely local. Prominence is given 

 to Irish collections; and while specimens froni other countries 

 are used to illustrate classification or peculiarities of special; 

 interest, they are carefulh^ distinguished from the Irish types. 



A short statement as to the principal contents of the Museum; 

 ma)' be of interest. -jr.-j 



T.— Z001.0GICA1. Exhibits. - : - . j 



These form the greater part of the collections. The 

 various classes of invertebrates are illustrated by a few specir 

 mens, many local forms being lent by the Ulster Fisheries. 

 Association, while the vertebry.tes, and especially the birds,; 

 are more fully exemplified. 



One window-case is devoted to the Irish land and fresh- 

 water mollusca. The shells are all mounted in glass-topped 

 boxes, and carefully named. They are not classified in their 

 natural order, but in groups, such as sand-hill and maritime 

 species, shells of the marsh, of lakes and rivers, of ponds 

 and ditches, &c., and each group has a photograph of a 

 typical habitat. A few of the tiny species, such as Vertigos, 

 have enlarged photographs mounted in the boxes with the. 

 actual shells ; some of the slugs are represented by drawings. 

 English species which do not occur in Ireland, at present find 

 a place also in the case, with such exhibits as a picture of a 

 ."thrush altar," showing the bird breaking a Helix 7ie?noraliSj 

 some coloured drawings of Helices in their natural habitats 

 feeding, &c., &c. A second case contains such miscellaneous 

 exhibits as shell money ^ shells as ornaments, curious and 

 valuable shells, &c., these being accompanied, also, with 

 suitable photographs. 



There are several cases of insects, arranged in central desk 

 cases by J. N. Milne, mainly lepidoptera and coleoptera. The 

 local butterflies and moths are fairly well shown, and will be 

 added to : the beetles are carefully set and arranged. Foreign 

 insects are represented by collections from India and North 

 and South America, and the Donaldson collection of North 

 American lepidoptera is set in a way rarely seen in thi^ 



A 2 



