68 NATURAL SCIENCE [July 



The Museum Committee of the Council of the City and County of Bristol 

 have just been obliged, through the lamented death of Mr E. Wilson, to advertise 

 for a curator. They want " a Gentleman," a scientific man " competent to 

 catalogue the collections in and to advise as to the acquisition of specimens for 

 the Museum ;" he will have to act also "as Secretary to the Committee" and 

 " to devote the whole of his time to the duties." In return for the absolute 

 service of this highly educated gentleman, the Museum Committee of this 

 wealthy city offers a salary of £200 per annum. It is about time for the 

 British Association to meet in Bristol again, if only to arouse in the minds of 

 these economical councillors more intelligent appreciation of modern science 

 than their advertisement betokens. 



The Nottingham Natural History Museum has recently acquired a collection 

 of eggs and skins of British birds, formed by Mr F. B. Whitlock. 



There are now exhibited in the zoological galleries of the Paris Museum of 

 Natural History the collections made by Count de la Vaulx in Patagonia. 

 Among these, says V Anthropologic, are more than a hundred skulls or skeletons, 

 and other ethnographic objects of great importance. During the months of April, 

 May and June there has been delivered in these galleries a series of lectures on 

 natural history and scientific observation for travellers, with practical demonstra- 

 tions. The lecturers included many of the leading naturalists of Paris. 



At the Musee Guimet, Paris, are now exhibited many archaeological and 

 ethnographic objects, collected by Baron J. de Baye during his recent journey 

 in Siberia. 



The Gamarasaurus from South Wyoming has now been mounted and set up 

 in the American Museum by Prof. Osborn and his assistants. It is 62 feet 

 long. 



The Government Museum of the South African Republic at Pretoria, under 

 the direction of Dr J. W. B. Gunning, favours us monthly with a list of its 

 accessions. This appears to evidence a praiseworthy activity on the part of the 

 Museum, but we note that the greater number of the specimens come from other 

 parts of the world than South Africa, so that it does not throw very much light 

 upon the collections that may be made in that country. 



The meeting of the Museums' Association at Sheffield, under the presidency 

 of Alderman Brittain, begins on Monday, July 4, with a visit to the Buskin 

 Museum. Papers and discussions will occupy the mornings, and visits to 

 museums, steel-works, and water-works, the afternoons of the three following 

 days. On Friday the members will visit Castleton. There is a strong Reception 

 Committee, including the Lord Mayor, the Master Cutler, and the Duke of 

 Norfolk. Papers will be read by Dr H. C. Sorby, Prof. W. C. F. Anderson, 

 Prof. Denny, Mr S. Sinclair of the Australian Museum, Messrs F. A. Bather, 

 H. Bolton, E. Howarth, and others. 



The Conversazione of the Royal Society, held on May 11th, was from the 

 point of view of natural science one of the most disappointing that we remember. 

 There was a sentimental sort of interest in seeing the borings from Funafuti, but 

 it was hardly to be expected that they should convey any information. Prof. 

 Poulton's exhibit of insects captured in North America showed that he was an 

 energetic collector who made good use of his holiday. But Prof. Poulton's energy 

 was already well known to us. Models of vertebrae by Dr Gadow and Mr W. F. 

 Blandford were of educational value, but chiefly striking for the gruesomeness of 

 their colouring. The Marine Biological Association was represented by Mr 

 Garstang, who showed crabs of different orders in their natural habitats in an 

 attempt to prove that their ordinal characters are of an adaptive nature. This 



