X. MISCELLANEOUS. 601 



formed the subject of an animated discussion at the late 

 meeting of the British Association. The conclusions of Dr. 

 Sclater's paper are enunciated in the following propositions, 

 as summed up by himself: 



1. The administration of the new museum of natural history 

 should be vested in a director, who should be immediately re- 

 sponsible to one of the Queen's ministers. 



2. The collections should be primarily divided into two 

 series : (a) those intended for public exhibition ; (b) those re- 

 served for private study. 



3. The collections a (for public exhibition) should be ar- 

 ranged in their natural order, in one continuous series of gal- 

 leries, so as to give the best possible general idea of the prin- 

 cipal forms of life, and of their arrangement according to the 

 natural system. 



4. The collections b (for private study) should be arranged 

 in rooms immediately adjacent to the public galleries, in such 

 a manner that the corresponding portions of a and b should 

 practically form but one series, and so that the private stu- 

 dent may have access at all times to objects in the public 

 galleries. 



5. A complete library of natural history should be furnish- 

 ed for the special use of the institution, and be placed in some 

 central portion of the building, equally accessible to all de- 

 partments. 



6. The collections of osteology, the spirit preparations, the 

 skins in store, the series of British animals, the collection of 

 " nests and nidamental structures," and all other subordinate 

 collections, should be amalgamated in the general series. 



7. The collections of the palseontological department should 

 likewise be amalgamated with the general series. 



The views of Dr. Sclater in regard to the employment of a 

 continuous system of wall-cases were stoutly contested, 

 among others by Mr. Alfred Wallace and Professor Archer, 

 the objections on the part of Mr. Wallace being that, 



1. They admit of any object being seen by the smallest 

 number of persons at once, so that any one person studying 

 an object almost necessarily monopolizes it, and prevents 

 others from approaching it, an inconvenience that reaches its 

 maximum in the recessed cases exhibited in Dr. Sclater's 



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