i8 
News jrom the Magazines. 
to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society for the use of the Hall, 
and hospitality, and to Mr. Oxley Grabham, M.A., and Mr. 
Wm. Ingham, B.A., for making the local arrangements. 
The exhibits were numerous. They included the contents of 
the museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, which 
contains one of the best collections of Roman remains in the 
Kingdom, housed in the Hospitium ; an excellent geological 
collection, a good collection of British Birds, including two 
specimens of the now extinct Great Auk ; The Allis collection 
of Lepidoptera ; the Hey collection of British Coleoptera ; 
a fine osteological collection, and many remains of prehistoric 
man. There was also a special exhibit by Mr. Ingham of 
marine algae, lichens, hepatics, sphagna, true mosses, rare 
ferns, and club-mosses ; and of rare birds and waders by Messrs. 
C. Proctor and S. H. Smith. A large number of beautiful 
autochrome lantern slides depicting Irish scenery, mosses, 
fungi, and flowering plants was shown by Mr. C. A. Cheetham. 
Of the latter, those of the furze, fly orchis, globe flower at 
Malham, mountain avens at Arncliffe, and sweet cicely, were 
greatly admired. Lantern slides were also exhibited by Messrs. 
O. Grabham and S. H. Smith.- W. E. L. \Y. 
We learn from Nature that ' a Conference of members of the Museums 
Association and others interested in Museum work was held at Warrington 
on 30th October, on the invitation of the Committee of the Municipal 
Museum. Representatives attended of the Museums of Liverpool, 
Manchester, Hull, Lolton, Salford, Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent, and other 
towns. Air. P. Entwistle raised the question how far it was allowable 
to go in the restoration of imperfect specimens, maintaining the view, 
with which the meeting generally agreed, that such restoration as was 
required to give a clear impression of the form of the object was desirable, 
provided that the extent of the restoration was obvious on close exam- 
ination. Dr. Tattersall (Manchester Museum), in a paper on museums 
and local collections, with the outlines of a scheme for the compilation 
of a fauna of Lancashire, said that the first duty of a provincial museum 
was to collect and preserve specimens illustrating the natural history of 
the surrounding district, and proposed that an organization should be 
formed to link up the existing museums in Lancashire with the various 
natural science societies, and specialists in various zoological groups. 
The museums would receive the specimens collected locally and forward 
them to appointed centres, where they would be named and recorded, 
and returned when dealt with to the same museums for permanent 
preservation.’ Air. Sheppard (Hull Aluseum) pointed out the way in 
which the records of the various Zoological Societies were made per- 
manent, by the aid of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, and its pub 
lications, and suggested that Lancashire naturalists would do well to 
follow the example of their Yorkshire friends. ' A Committee was 
appointed, with Dr. Tattersall as Convener, to take the preliminary 
steps to carrv out the scheme. Mr. Madeley (Warrington Museum) 
announced that it w r as proposed, provided a sufficient number of museums 
agreed to subscribe, to prepare and distribute a series of casts of say,, 
twenty tvpical British stone implements from the British Aluseum 
collections. The selection would be made by Sir Hercules Read, who had 
also kindly consented to prepare a des ription to accompany the casts.’ 
Naturalist, 
