Notes and Comments . 
147 
Further outbreaks occurred in Durham, West Sussex and 
Kent, in December of the same year. Again, without any 
apparent cause, outbreaks commenced in East Sussex on the 
23rd August, 1920, and in Kent and Suffolk in the months of 
October and November. Again in 1914, after a period of 
freedom, foot and mouth disease commenced at the end of 
August at Stallingborough (Lincolnshire) and continued until 
the earlier part of September, and in 1915 after a period of 
nine months’ freedom, foot and mouth disease broke out in 
Somersetshire on the 20th October, and led to widespread 
outbreaks of the disease in that county and in the adjoining 
county of Wiltshire. The Ministry will, however, be very 
much obliged for any real evidence which the Yorkshire 
Naturalists’ Union is able to furnish against the view that 
infection may be introduced by wild birds.’ 
It is not for the Union to furnish evidence that the infection 
may be introduced by wild birds. The probabilities are greatly 
against it ; not the slightest proof has so far been advanced of 
the likelihood of such an occurrence. It is for those who have 
advanced the apparently absurd theory to make good their 
st at ements . — R . F . 
Will any members of the Union who are able to furnish 
any evidence bearing upon this question kindly forward the 
same to the Hon. Secretary of the Vertebrate Section, E. 
Wilfred Taylor, 10 Telford Terrace, York.? 
FADING OF MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 
In The Museums Journal for April, Sir Sidney F. Harmer, 
of the British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington, 
has an elaborate and valuable paper on ‘ Experiments on the' 
Fading of Museum Specimens,’ which should be read by every 
museum curator and others interested in natural history 
objects. Sir Sidney’s conclusions are ‘ (a) The additional 
expenditure which would be involved in glazing windows or 
the tops and sides of cases with a tinted glass would probably 
be out of proportion to the slight advantage possessed by any 
of the glasses at present available in prolonging, but not in 
preventing, the fading of specimens, (b) Direct sunlight should 
be avoided at all costs in galleries in which specimens such as 
Mammals, Birds and Moths are to be exhibited, (c) It should 
be realized that diffused daylight is also injurious, though to a 
less extent than direct sunlight, to fugitive colours. The 
practice, which has been in use for some years, during the 
summer, in the British Museum (Natural History) of completely 
darkening the galleries by black blinds, after closing time, is 
to be strongly recommended. In most museums the specimens 
are exposed to a large amount of deleterious light in the summer 
mornings and evenings, during many hours when the galleries 
1922 May 1 
