THE PEOGEESS OF SCIENCE 



517 



THE TEOGEESS OF SCIENCE 



THE CENTENABY OF THE ACAD- 

 EMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 

 OF PHILADELPHIA 



The Academj of Xatural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia celebrated on March 

 19, 20 and 21 the centenary of its 

 foundation, the last day being the 

 actual date of the anniversary. On 

 the first day Dr. S. G. Dixon, the presi- 

 dent of the academy, gave a historical 

 address and Dr. Edward J. Nolan, the 

 secretary, gave reminiscences of the 

 fifty years of his official connection 

 with the academy. Delegates to the 

 number of 147 presented letters, cre- 

 dentials and congratulations from the 

 scientific and educational institutions 

 which they represented. There was an 

 important program of scientific papers. 

 Dr. Dixon gave a reception on the 

 second evening and on the third eve- 

 ning there was a banquet in the geolog- 

 ical hall of the academy. 



The centenary will be marked by the 

 publication of a memorial volume, as 

 well as the issue of a complete index 

 of the academy publications, a work 

 which has been under way for five 

 years. The greatest memorial of the 

 centenary, however, is the completion 

 of the new buildings of the academy, 

 which were temporarily put in shape 

 for the celebration, but in whose new 

 halls the great collections have not yet 

 been fully installed. When finished, 

 Philadelphia will possess in the group 

 of buildings, which will face on one 

 of the most important sections of the 

 great Parkway, a museum of natural 

 history admirably equipped in the way 

 of collections, and in convenience of 

 the exhibtion halls and of the research 

 departments. Everything has been 

 done by the president and the curators, 

 utilizing the money appropriated by 

 the state, to prepare a series of modern 

 halls and rooms beautifully lighted 

 both by day and by night, fireproof 

 and meeting every demand of a modern 

 museum. The result is an imposing 

 group of buildings in brick, terra cotta 



and granite, with two entrances, one on 

 Race Street, the principal entrance, 

 and the other on Nineteenth Street, 

 which gives access to the main service 

 halls and the fine lecture room and the 

 great library. 



The new academy consists of three 

 distinct buildings. The main buildings 

 on Race Street, which replace the old 

 historic centennial building of green- 

 stone, is four stories high and is 184 

 feet long on Race Street, with a width 

 of 64 feet. The first floor of this main 

 building is given over to a large room 

 with galleries supported by classic pil- 

 lars, in which will be housed the great 

 Vaux collection of minerals, and other 

 mineralogical and geological treasures. 

 Toward the Twentieth Street end, the 

 valuable herbarium will be housed in 

 the first and second stories, with the 

 working rooms of the botanists 

 with the collections. In 



ranged 



ar- 



the 



archeological hall Mr. Clarence B. 

 Moore's collection of Indian pottery 

 will be the main feature, together with 

 other collections relating to the history 

 of 'mankind. Further south along the 

 Nineteenth Street side are the lecture 

 hall on the first floor and above it the 

 great library and reading room. The 

 book stacks are in the rear of the lec- 

 ture hall, the reading room and the 

 galleries, and run from the bottom to 

 the top of the building. The library 

 and lecture hall are really a separate 

 building, protected by its construction 

 from the menace of fire, its stacks 

 representing the latest improvements 

 and conveniences for the handling of 

 the books. 



On the second floor of the main 

 building and the connecting wings 

 there will be found the paleontological 

 hall, 184 feet in length, with a width 

 of 64 feet. This with its double gal- 

 leries is the largest hall in the building. 

 The connecting wing leading to the 

 Nineteenth Street buildings will be 

 given over to the Pennsylvania and 

 New .Jersey local collections, while the 



