NATURE-STUDY IX A MUSEUM 



6i 



work, is considered in making up the collections. They are 

 accompanied by some simple books and are kept for a term of 

 weeks, then returned to the Museum. 



The last phase of nature-study to be mentioned is the flower 

 table. From the time the first arbutus blossoms on a southern 

 hillside, until the witch-hazel lets fall its crinkled yellow petals 

 late in the autumn, a procession of wild flowers is to be seen in 

 the museum. The specimens are arranged in clear glass ^-ases 

 on tables in a prominent part of the hall. Frequently fifty 

 specimens are displayed at a time, and often all the varieties of 

 one flower are to be seen the same day. One week in May the 

 violet table held twelve varieties, all found within a five-mile 

 radius of the Museum, and each September fifteen goldenrods 

 are exhibited on the same table. 



Flower tables. All flowers are labelled with both common and scientific names 



In the case of rare flowers, some of the orchids for instance, 

 only two or three specimens are displayed, often with a label 

 warning the public of the danger of gathering them in quantity 

 and so aiding in their extermination. The literature of the 

 "Wild Flower Preservation Society" has a place on this table, 



