P OP ULAR MIS CELL ANY. 



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sional glimpses through the rank growth of 

 willows with which the trail was lined. 

 " These glimpses, however, revealed numer- 

 ous cultivated fields of corn, beans, sunflow- 

 ers, melons, peaches, apricots, and certain 

 plants used in dyeing and basket-making, 

 and usually carefully protected by hedges of 

 wattled willows or fences of Cottonwood 

 poles. Everywhere these fields were crossed 

 and recrossed by a network of irrigating 

 canals and trails. Here and there were little 

 cabins, or shelters, flat-roofed, dirt-covered, 

 and closed in on three sides by wattled flags, 

 canes, and slender branches, while the front 

 was protected by a hedge like those of the 

 fields, only taller, placed a few feet before 

 the house, and between which and the house 

 burned smoky fires. The houses were always 

 nestled down among the thick willows bor- 

 dering the river, or perched on some con- 

 venient shelf, under the shadows of the 

 western precipices." Little buildings of 

 stone laid in mud plaster, somewhat like the 

 cliff dwellings, were also seen in the hori- 

 zontal cracks of the western cliffs, often 

 high up. These Indians have medicine-men, 

 use the sweat-house, possess many dogs, have 

 considerable families, and are on good terms 

 with the whites. 



The Purposes and Arrangement of Mu- 

 seums. The museums of the future in this 

 country, says G. Brown Goode, " should be 

 adapted to the needs of the mechanic, the 

 factory operator, the day laborer, the sales- 

 man, and the clerk, as much as to those of 

 the professional man and the man of leisure. 

 It is proper that the laboratories be utilized 

 to the fullest extent for the credit of the 

 institution to which they belong. No mu- 

 seum can grow and be respected which does 

 not each year give additional proofs of its 

 claims to be considered a center of learning. 

 On the other hand, the public have a right 

 to ask that much shall be done directly in 

 their interest. They will gladly allow the 

 museum officer to use part of his time in 

 study and experiment. They will take pride 

 in the possession by the museum of tens of 

 thousands of specimens, interesting only to 

 the specialist, hidden away perpetually from 

 public view, but necessary for purposes of 

 scientific research. These are foundations of 

 the intellectual superstructure which gives 



the institution its standing. Still, no pains 

 must be spared in the presentation of the 

 material in the exhibition halls. The speci- 

 mens must be prepared in the most careful 

 and artistic manner, and arranged attract- 

 ively in well-designed cases and behind the 

 clearest of glass. Each object must bear a 

 label, giving its name and history so fully 

 that all the probable questions of the visitor 

 are answered in advance. Books of refer- 

 ence must be kept in convenient places. 

 Colors of walls, cases, and labels must be 

 restful and quiet, and comfortable seats 

 should be everywhere accessible, for the task 

 of the museum visitor is a weary one at 

 best. In short, the public museum is, first 

 of all, for the benefit of the public. When 

 the officers are few in number, each one 

 must of necessity devote a considerable por- 

 tion of his time to the public halls. When 

 the staff becomes larger, it is possible by 

 specialization of work to arrange that cer- 

 tain men may devote their time uninterrupt- 

 edly to laboratory work, while others are 

 engaged in the increase of the collections 

 and their installation." 



The Technical School at St. Etienn?, 

 France, At the technical school in St. Eti- 

 emie, France, according to the United States 

 consul in that city, three hundred students 

 are taught weaving, dyeing, sculpture, iron- 

 founding, cabinet-making, and other arts, free 

 of charge. The apprenticeship course lasts 

 four years, and after completing it a certifi- 

 cate of aptitude is given, under which the 

 pupil may obtain a situation in the line of 

 industrial labor he has chosen. In the first 

 year the students pass through all the work- 

 shops, to be initiated into the proper handling 

 of the different tools. After that, the boys 

 are classed according to their tastes, desires, 

 and aptitudes. They work at manual labor 

 three hours daily during thesecond year, four 

 hours in the third, and five hours in the first 

 and seven in the last six months of the fourth 

 and last year. Great attention is paid to the 

 teaching of the theory of the different trades, 

 the fitters being taught to trace and cut out 

 cog-wheels, and the carpenters to design and 

 execute a certain number of works, such as 

 stairs of different kinds, shutters, balconies, 

 etc., on a reduced scale. The weavers are 

 also given special lessons in book-keeping, 



