507.43 i68 



II. 



The Natural History Departments of the 

 Bohemian Museum. 



Two years ago the Museum of Natural History at Prague, 

 Bohemia, was transferred to a magnificent building standing in 

 a commanding situation at the top of an ascending street more than 

 a kilometre in length (Plate V.). The first floor of the new building 

 contains the historical, archaeological, numismatic, and ethnographical 

 collections, as well as the mineralogical and botanical departments ; 

 the second floor, the palaeontological and zoological collections. 



The chief idea in arranging the collections has been to give 

 prominence to everything characteristic of Bohemia. The foreign 

 collections comprise only such types as are of general scientific 

 interest. 



In accordance with this plan, the Bohemian minerals are 

 arranged in the order of their geological age in two large rooms, while 

 the general collection of minerals occupies only one room twenty-six 

 metres in length. 



The first room of the geological collection is the Barrandeum, 

 devoted to the collection of the late Joachim Barrande, described in 

 his classic work, the figured specimens being arranged in the trans- 

 verse cases. The wall-cases contain a collection of azoic rocks, 

 forming the base of Barrande's " Silurian " formation, and consisting 

 of typical specimens collected by Professor Zippe. The fossils from 

 the " Lower Silurian " of Barrande are already arranged and 

 provided with printed labels ; while those from the " Upper Silurian " 

 are only partly arranged, because the corals, crinoids, and gastropods 

 are still in the hands of monographers (Professor Waagen and 

 Dr. Pocta). The more minute specimens are explained by means of 

 the figures of Barrande's plates, for which purpose the Barrande 

 family has kindly furnished a copy of the entire work (Fig. i). A special 

 case, devoted to the memory of Barrande, contains the volumes of his 

 monumental work, presented for the purpose of exhibition in the 

 Barrandeum by the executrix, Mdlle. Alene Girardeau. The work 

 consists of 24 volumes and 1,237 plates, and contains the description 

 and figures of 4,630 species, distributed as follows : — 



