THE PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY. 537 



merly owned by the distinguished ornithologist, John Gould, and which 

 formed the basis of his magnificent work on the birds of Australia. 

 Here may be seen a specimen of the great auk, of which only two 

 other specimens exist in America, and less than a dozen in the whole 

 world. There is also an egg of the same bird, there being but one 

 more in this country. And, while mentioning the eggs, we would say 

 that the collection of these fragile objects is not excelled in Europe, 

 embracing as it does 5,000 specimens, representing 1,323 identified 

 species. The crabs, lobsters, and shrimps occupy cases beneath the 

 windows of the galleries, over 1,000 different kinds being exhibited. 

 On the second gallery are the shells, the largest collection in the world, 

 both in species and in specimens. The largest single donation to this 

 department was the collection of George W. Tryon, Jr., of over 100,- 

 000 specimens, illustrating over 10,000 species. Of the fresh-water 

 mussels alone, 783 different kinds are on exhibition. The collections 

 of star-fishes, sea-urchins, and corals are on this floor, but, though large, 

 are excelled by those of several institutions in the United States. 



Owing to the destructive action of light, the insects are not dis- 

 played, but are kept in two rooms connected with the library. Over 

 70,000 different species and hundreds of thousands of specimens rep- 

 resent the insect world. The herbarium is also very extensive, and 

 occupies two rooms opposite to those devoted to insects. 



The Academy holds its regular meetings every Tuesday evening, at 

 which times papers giving an account of original investigations are 

 presented, and remarks are made on various scientific subjects. Be- 

 sides these regular meetings, members who are interested in special 

 subjects have associated themselves in " sections," which meet at 

 stated intervals. Four of these sections now exist, devoted respectively 

 to microscopy, conchology, botany, and entomology. The Academy 

 maintains two series of publications, Avhile the conchological and ento- 

 mological sections have at times published their scientific proceedings 

 separately. The total publications of the Academy and its sections 

 numbered, July, 1876, 3,681 pages and 404 plates quarto, and 20,752 

 pages and 499 plates octavo. 



This magnificent museum and library is a monument to the gener- 

 osity of comparatively few of the citizens of the " City of Brotherly 

 Love." With the exception of exemption from taxation, not one cent 

 has the Academy had from city or State. General funds it has none, 

 its running expenses being paid by the annual dues of the members 

 and the proceeds of a small admission-fee (ten cents) to the museum. 

 Its special funds realize about 8600 a year for publication, and $1,800 

 for the library. There is also a scholarship fund which pays two or 

 three students twenty dollars a month while pursuing studies at the 

 Academy. 



The object of this rather statistical sketch is not only to give an 

 account of one of the most prominent scientific organizations in the 



