PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. XIX 
The Prizes I hope to hand to the successful competitors at 
a special gathering of the young people within the next week 
or two. 
Now, it may perhaps seem to some of you to be beneath the dignity 
of a society such as ours to organise a competition of this sort for 
school children, but I think that if you were to read the essays you 
would find that it had served a useful end. They nearly all bear 
evidence that the competitors have taken an intelligent interest in the 
collections, and that they have not regarded them as a heterogeneous 
assemblage of so-called “curiosities.” The general plan of arrange¬ 
ment has been grasped with more clearness than I had anticipated, 
and in every case the distinction between the Perthshire Collections 
and the Type Collections has been emphasised. In several cases a 
considerable amount of originality has been displayed, showing that 
the writers have not been content merely to take the information 
conveyed by the labels, but have added the results of their own 
observation. One, for instance, in describing the specimens illustra¬ 
ting the development of the salmon, gives some interesting notes on 
the life-history of that fish. The same writer is surprised at not 
seeing any fallow deer in the Deer Case, forgetting that they are not 
indigenous in the county, and then goes on to describe the peculia¬ 
rities of the rabbits in the Rodent Case, as compared with those 
which he has observed in the part of the county where he lives. 
One cannot help feeling that the habit of observation thus early 
acquired may some day lead to important results. With such tastes 
manifesting themselves in the rising generation, there is no fear of 
our Society lacking enthusiastic supporters in the future, when the 
present workers shall have passed away. Several of the essays 
contain sketch plans, showing the arrangement of the collections. 
Some of these, from the mistakes which they contain, have evidently 
been drawn from memory, but for this very reason they show that 
the writers must have thoroughly grasped the general scheme of 
arrangement. In conclusion, I think we may claim that this 
competition has proved what we have always maintained, namely, 
that a museum such as ours is a powerful educational factor in the 
community. It has brought out exactly the impressions produced 
on the children’s minds, and has shown, not only how the Museum 
leads them to observe Nature for themselves with a new interest, 
but also how it helps them to acquire an orderly and systematic 
habit of thought. 
The success which has attended this experiment is so encouraging 
that I shall be glad to repeat my offer, and to give prizes for 
another Essay Competition during the present year. The subject 
which I have chosen for this competition is “The Divisions of the 
Animal Kingdom, as illustrated in the Index Museum.” The 
conditions will be the same as last year, namely, each essay must 
bear the name, address, age, and school of the writer, and must be 
handed either to Mr. Ellison, 56 South Methven Street, Perth, or to 
Mr. Rodger, at the Museum, before 31st December. I trust there 
will be even a larger number of competitors than last year. 
The last of the special features of the work of the past session 
