41 
equivalent of the lower boulder clay of Lancashire. This 
discovery, however, needs verification. 
7. The Position of Museums in Britain. 
I come now to a subject which to my mind touches the 
interests of this Society, because it stands in close relation to 
the advancement of the study of the history of the earth 
and of its inhabitants in Manchester — the subject of 
Museums. It seems to me that it is necessary for the 
student of nature in the highest and widest sense to have 
access to well arranged collections of objects which stand to 
them in the same position as books to the ordinary student, 
and to have in addition laboratories, which are the equiva- 
lents of reading rooms. Without these their labours may be 
unpractical and sporadic. There ought also to be a teaching 
staff to give system and direction to what otherwise would 
be unfruitful efforts. This ideal is only carried out in a few 
places in this country, among which I would mention more 
particularly the Museums at Oxford and Cambridge. From 
my experience of those abroad, I turn from those of our own 
country with feelings of envy and regret. Here a museum 
is frequently a large sort of advertising bazaar, or a recep- 
tacle for miscellaneous curiosities unfitted for a private 
house, or it is composed of an accumulation of objects valu- 
able in themselves, but valueless for all practical purposes, 
because they are crowded together, or stowed away for want 
of room. They are generally under-manned, starved for 
want of funds, largely dependent on casual benevolence, or 
a burden on the scant resources of the various societies. On 
the Continent, in America, and in Australia, they are as a 
rule well officered, well arranged and not dependent on 
private resources for their sustenance. That our museums 
should be allowed to be such a striking contrast to those of 
our neighbours and kinsmen is a most singular oversight in 
the richest and, as we sometimes fancy ourselves to be, the 
most practical people in the world. 
