56 
The third plan of organization for the Museum would solve this 
difficulty, whatever other disadvantages it might have. It is to share the 
conduct of the Museum among as many Government departments as have 
a direct interest in it, under administrative control of a joint or common 
board of directors or trustees. The great Indian Museum at Calcutta is 
conducted in this manner, and the Royal Ontario Museum, at Toronto, 
has adopted a slight modification of the same plan. This plan would 
permit of certain other organizations in the Government service which are 
concerned with the systematic side of natural history — particularly in 
biology — to form with the Museum mutually advantageous affiliations like 
that which has obtained for so long between the Geological Survey and the 
Museum. It would appear to open a way for a greater and better balanced 
National Museum, without great expense to the country. 
In order to collect, study, and display the resources of the country in 
all branches of natural science the Museum should possess at least the 
following sections and exhibition space, halls in each case being understood 
to be a room about 100 feet by 50 feet, such as the Victoria Memorial 
Museum contains: 
Anthropology 2 halls 
Biology (Mammals) 1 hall 
(Birds) 1 hall 
(Insects) i hall 
(Aquatic and other animals) 1 hall 
(Botany) 1 hall 
(Forestry) 1 hall 
Geography. 1 hall 
Geology (stratigraphy, economic geology, etc.) 2 halls 
Mineralogy 1 hall 
Palaeontology (invertebrate) 1 hall 
(vertebrate) 1 hall 
Total 13| halls 
There are thirteen halls in the Victoria Memorial Museum, but only 
four of these are available for Museum exhibition purposes. Four of the 
other nine are used by the National Gallery, three by the Geological Survey 
for offices, and two for Museum offices, storage of collections, and work 
shops. In consequence the division of anthropology is the only one which 
has sufficient exhibition space to make permanent displays, and is doing 
so. The division of biology has one and a half halls. It has begun upon 
a permanent exhibition of Canadian birds, but one-half of the hall that 
will ultimately be needed for this purpose is at present used for a mixed 
and purely temporary display of mammals, insects, fishes, plants, etc. 
Vertebrate and invertebrate fossil exhibits are crowded together in another 
hall in a manner which does justice to neither and which can only be 
regarded as a temporary arrangement. The highly important and inter- 
esting sections of geology, ores and minerals, and geography are repre- 
sented by a few cases of specimens arranged along corridors and in odd 
corners. This condition is unsatisfactory and prevents a permanent plan 
being carried out except in the case of anthropology and birds. There is 
still some free space for a temporary scheme of exhibition, but it is expected 
that this space will all be in use by the end of 1928. Then additional 
exhibition work will apparently have to cease unless additional halls are 
provided in the meantime. 
