16 ON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS.
attractive and instructive collection of mollusca, crustacea, and
insects from all parts of the world.
The very effective manner in which this collection is
displayed ought not to pass unnoticed. The molluscan shells, for
instance, are placed on cotton wool in trays, whilst the crust-
aceans are mounted on a sand-like floor ; nothing, too, can be
more clear and striking than the labelling—white letters being
used on a black ground with a vermilion border. Let it not be
thought that such details are too trivial for mention at a
scientific meeting ; on the contrary they are matters of the first
moment in rendering the collection attractive to visitors ; and it
is neglect of such small matters that has done much to bring
museums into ill repute.
Whilst referring to the excellent manner in which the speci-
mens throughout the Museum are mounted, I should ill discharge
my duty if f made no mention of the labours of Mr. Whitehead,
Mr. Cole's assistant, to whose skill and taste in displaying the
specimens the Museum owes much of its attractiveness ; nor
should I omit reference to his wide range of knowledge and
scientific enthusiasm, which render his services of such great
value to the Institution.
Part of the Invertebrate Collection is exhibited on the walls
of the staircase leading from the ground floor of the Museum to
the Gallery. Here will be found' representatives of the great
groups of Coelenterata, Porifera, Echinodermata and Vermes, mostly
preserved in spirit. Even the fugacious jelly-fish from Southend
is represented here. Nothing can be more effective than the
manner in which the soft organisms are Mounted on sheets of
glass, with a suitable dark background, in rectangular glass jars.
In fact, the use of the parallel-sided jar instead of a cylinder, and
the employment of formalin as a preservative agent, have been
the means, in recent years, of displaying such objects in a manner
which contrasts most favourably with the unsatisfactory methods
of exhibiting "spirit specimens" in old-fashioned museums.
The lower Vertebrata are represented by an excellent collection
of local Fishes, beautifully arranged in the alcove on the right
hand of the visitor as he enters the museum. Here are
numerous specimens, some stuffed and others preserved in spirit,
illustrating the fish-fauna, not only of the freshwaters of Essex,
but also of the shallow part of the North Sea which washes the