lled with other specimens, some of them old and doubtful as regards
freedom from insects. A general collection, even should great care be
taken, requires constant watching to seize upon any specimen showing
signs of damage; but why a choice group of young birds in their nest,
with parents--birds in change of plumage, surrounded by accessories
which perhaps have cost hundreds of hours to execute--should be
exposed to all the evils imaginable when isolation is so much more
practicable and practical, passes comprehension.

No; I am convinced that the only way to manage, in a museum of
sufficient size to have a general collection, is to arrange it as I
have sketched out, and to make a separate collection close at hand, if
need be, for comparison of the animals collected in the district.

Now for labelling. It was proposed originally in Scheme A in this
form:

"It will be essential to have labels in the cases. These maybe made
simple, however, with references to a descriptive catalogue. The
labels should bear the English name, with 'Resident,' Summer
Visitant,' or 'Winter Visitant' on all British species. Nothing more.

"The three sections should have labels of distinct colours--say,
yellow for local, pink for British, white for foreign. The labels will
probably be best glued on to some part of the stand or setting. They
should be as small as possible, so as to be legible,

"Local species maybe distinguished as 'Native' and 'Casual, or
Accidental.

"The latter might have a dark line above, and below the name
on the label--thus, Stork, or be marked 'Casual--Spring,' or
'Casual--Autumn.'"

To this I objected that if the arrangement was to be "pictorial," the
"spotty" appearance of labels, especially if of light tints, was
destructive to the effect sought to be gained; that yellow is not
distinct from white by gaslight; and that pink often fades to yellow;
also that to colour-blind people these labels would have no
significance whatever.

In addition, I submitted that there are educated people as well as
people of the other class, and that the system of labels written with
common names inside the cases is not only unscientific but ugly in the
extreme, for these reasons--that there are many birds whose "English"
names are just as puzzling as their scientific to the uneducated;
whereas, for those who care to learn, the scientific name is a factor
of knowledge.

Regarding their inexpedience and ugliness, such a word as