122 NOTES ON THE CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES OF THE
It was thought by the Corresponding Societies' Committee that
it might increase the practical advantages of the Conference if its
first meeting were devoted to the discussion of some one subject of
general interest to the Corresponding Societies, and the second to the
various matters usually touched upon in connection with the
various Sections of the Association. Accordingly, Mr. Cuthbert
Peek, M.A., a member of the Corresponding Societies' Committee,
kindly consented to open a discussion at the first meeting of the
Conference on August 9th on the subject of Local Museums, pro-
posing to treat the question under the following headings :
1. Methods of registration and cataloguing.
2. The protection of specimens from injury and dust.
3. The circulation of specimens and type collections for educational purposes.
4. Central referees for nomenclature and classification.
5. The most satisfactory methods of making museums attractive.
6. Museum lectures and demonstrations.
7. The relations between museums and County Councils.
For small museums Mr. Peek considered the card catalogue was
the most convenient, and he dwelt on the advantages of having a
letter and number painted on a specimen, and of other means by
which a specimen might easily be identified if the label were dis-
placed by a careless cleaner. As regards the preservation of
specimens from injury and dust, he reminded the delegates that
every closed case was acted upon by changes in the pressure of the
atmosphere, and that it drew in or gave out air and dust with every
change of pressure. Professor Miall, of the Yorkshire College, had
a rectangular hole cut in the top of each case and covered with
damiette This filtered the air passing through. Mr. Peek himself
inclined to use cotton wool. It should be remembered, he added,
that enough air should be admitted at the authorised entrance to
prevent a supply from being sucked in through the inevitable joints
and cracks elsewhere.
He then spoke very highly of the advantages of the circulation of
loan collections illustrating the subjects taught in elementary schools.
At Liverpool, he remarked, a system for doing this had been very
carefully elaborated, and those interested in the subject should
consult a paper by Mr. J. Chard in the Report of the Museums'
Association for 1890.
He thought that an organisation of specialists, who would, for a
small fee, allow specimens to be sent to them for identification,
would be of great value. In the discussion after the conclusion of