ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. XV 



for comparative examination and study. There is then to be a collec- 

 tion of animals, or fossils, arranged according to their palseontological 

 character, that is to say, according to the geological a<e in which 



v ' o O O C 1 



they flourished. It is also contemplated to have another collection of 

 animals based upon their geographical distribution, the bear of 

 the poles being brought side by side with the reindeer, etc., of the 

 same regions, and the lion of the equator with other animals oi hot 

 countries ; and also an exhibition of embryos in all stages of their 

 development. The museum in its present state already ranks as the 

 ninth in the world in its special departments, and it is the hope of the 

 founder to make it within his own lifetime equal to any. 



A movement is now making to establish in Boston an institution on 

 a most comprehensive plan, devoted to the practical sciences and arts, 

 to be called " THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY," 

 having the triple organization of a Society of Arts, a Museum or Con- 

 servatory of Arts, and a School of Industrial Science and Art. The 

 vast and increasing magnitude of the industrial interests of New Ensr- 



o o o 



land furnishes a powerful incentive to the establishment of such an 

 institution; and many of the leading minds of this section of country 

 have long felt it imperative to provide for the people, in addition 

 to the established educational systems, such facilities for acquiring 

 practical knowledge, and for the intelligent guidance of enterprise and 

 labor, as may make the progress of the New England States commen- 

 surate, step by step, with the advance of scientific discovery. 



A recent report of the Academy of Sciences at Philadelphia gives 

 the whole number of specimens of birds now in the museum of that 

 society at about twenty-nine thousand. It embraces Mr. Gould's 

 collection of the birds of Australia, also a large collection made by 

 Captain Boys in the interior countries of India, and the collection 

 made by General Massena, Duke of Rivoli, which was once regarded 

 as the finest private collection of birds in Europe. Of the whole number 

 of specimens in the museum of the society, over twenty-six thousand 

 were the gift of a single individual, the well-known ornithologist, 

 Dr. T. B. Wilson. 



The State Agricultural College of New York, situated at Ovid, 

 between the Cayuga and Seneca lakes, is completed, or sufficiently to 

 to be occupied, and will be open for instruction during the present 

 year. Major Patrick, formerly of the army, will be at the head of the 

 institution, assisted by an efficient corps of teachers, and the friends of 

 the institution have great confidence that it will be largely attended by 

 young men who intend to devote themselves to the intelligent pursuit 

 of agriculture, and will prove a most useful and thriving school. 



There has been recently established in London a Society for the 

 Acclimatization of Animals. Birds, Fishes, Insects, and Vegetables. 

 The Secretary is F. T. Buckland, Esq., whose name and that of his 

 father are so thoroughly associated with natural history. The purposes 



