I 
254 ST. ALBANS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
A case standing near to the door is devoted to the display 
of certain groups of Invertebrates, including representative 
examples of the British Coelenterates, Echinoderms, Tunicates, 
and Cephalopods. Exhaustive labelling and many descriptive 
diagrams are also shown with a view to giving a rudimentary 
insight into the structure and bionomics of these several types of 
the Animal Kingdom. 
In addition to the collections displayed, the Museum possesses 
several series of geological and biological specimens which are 
available for purposes of study. Of these mention may be made 
of the “ Wigram Bequest,” consisting of named and chiefly 
localized shells of worldwide origin; British fossils and 
minerals; a collection in process of formation of the Mollusca 
of Hertfordshire presented by Mr. Charles Oldham ; the valuable 
Herbaria of Messrs. Coleman & Webb (authors of ‘ Flora 
Hertfordiensis ’) ; and other collections of plants, both phanero¬ 
gamic and cryptogamic. In the Strong Boom are deposited the 
muniments of the G-ape Family, the Clarendon Court Bolls, and 
sundry other historical documents relating to the county. 
At the entrance gates the Daily Weather Beports of the 
Meteorological Office are displayed, and at the rear of the building 
is situated a Meteorological Becording Station, the instruments 
being the gift of Mr. John Hopkinson. The observations are 
made by the caretaker, Mr. Polman, who furnishes weekly 
reports for publication in the ‘ Herts Advertiser,’ and the 
monthly results are embodied in an annual report on the 
weather in the county published by the Hertfordshire Natural 
History Society. The grounds have partly been laid out as 
a botanical garden for the cultivation of indigenous Hertfordshire 
plants, and here during the summer months may be seen many 
interesting and scarce species in bloom. 
Trans. Hertfordshire Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol'. XIV , Part 3, June , 1911. 
