DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSEUM AND ITS CONTENTS.
On entering the Museum, the visitor should bear in mind that the principal front faces the south, so that he will be looking due north, with the east on his right, and the west on his left hand.
It must also not be forgotten that a museum in a state of active growth is continually receiving additions as well as undergoing changes in the arrangement of its contents, and since these often occur faster than new editions of the Guide can be produced, there may be variations in the positions of some of the specimens from those here given.
The Central Hall.
Statues and Cases in the Central Hall.
On entering the hall the visitor will notice the bronze statue of the late Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B., Superintendent of the Natural History Departments of the British Museum (1856–1884). It is the work of Mr. T. Brock, R.A., and was placed in the Museum on March 17th, 1897. To the right of this is a marble statue of the late Professor T. H. Huxley, sculptured by Mr. E. Onslow Ford, R.A., which was unveiled on April 28th, 1900. In the first bay on the left is a bust, by Mr. Brock, of the late Sir W. H. Flower, Director of the Natural History Departments of the British Museum from 1884 to 1898. Most of the cases placed on the floor of the hall illustrate general laws or points of interest in natural history which do not come appropriately for illustration within the systematic collections of the departmental series.
Pigeons illustrating Variation under Domestication.
One group, in a case near the entrance to the hall, on the right, shows the great variation to which a species may become subject under the influence of domestication, as illustrated by examples of the best-marked breeds of Pigeons, all derived by selection from the wild Rock-Dove (Columba livia), specimens of which are shown at the top of the case.
Fowls and Canaries illustrating Variation under Domestication.