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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



walk on air in the pride of their 

 achievements, and point to a dahlia or 

 a chrysanthemum, a white and succu- 

 lent leek or a parsnip two feet long ( !) 

 as the best of human achievements. 

 The automobile manufacturers vie 

 with one another in exhibiting the good 

 points of each machine. The spirit of 

 such a fair is commendable. Many a 

 man, woman, boy or girl has become 

 interested in chickens, vegetables, 

 flowers, machinery by attending a fair 

 where these are exhibited. 



Some one has called a museum a 

 dead circus. Not so. It is better de- 

 fined as a perpetual fair where each 

 exhibitor tries to transmit to a fellow 

 being some of his own interest and joy 

 in a particular subject. The Bruce 

 Museum at Greenwich, Connecticut, 

 will be a perpetual inspirational exhi- 

 bition. Several years ago Mr. Robert 

 M. Bruce, a wealthy philanthropist, 

 made various gifts to the Town of 

 Greenwich. Among these and evi- 

 dently dear to his heart, was the gift of 

 his own home in which he took so 

 much pride, and with it fifty thousand 

 dollars to refit and adapt it to receive 

 and make permanent an exhibition of 

 local nature, history and art. To carry 

 out his wishes, he selected the eminent 

 lawyer, the late and lamented Honor- 

 able Edwin L. Scofield, and four other 

 of his best and most intimate friends. 



Among these Trustees there have 

 been a series of changes, owing to two 

 deaths and three resignations. But there 

 is now a new Board full of interest in 

 the subject, with an Advisory Commit- 

 tee of five. The Town of Greenwich 

 owns the land and the home, and will 

 eventually own the museum. The edi- 

 tor of this magazine has philanthropi- 

 cally given his services for almost 

 three years to the Board of Trustees 

 and especially to the Chairman as ad- 

 viser in carrying out Mr. Bruce's wish- 

 es in the establishing of a working 

 museum for this part of the state. 

 Within the last twelve months thirty- 

 five thousand dollars have been ex- 

 pended in refitting the building under 

 the skilled direction of Mr. Frank 

 Rooke, one of our most accomplished 

 architects. The Library Bureau, 

 famed the world over for the superior 

 quality of its cases, has been setting 

 up cabinets as fine as may be found in 



any similar place in the world. 



The museum will not be a junk shop. 

 Ancient things are desired, but the 

 building will not be a place for any 

 old thing dragged out of the garret. 

 Your contributions will be exhibited, 

 and will be placed in the best possible 

 position to depict the old days in 

 Greenwich and in Connecticut. From 

 the nature point of view, large and 

 commodious is the equipment. There 

 will be no competition with the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History in 

 New York City. The Museum shall 

 stand first for Greenwich ; second for 

 Connecticut, third, for Long Island 

 Sound and the wild country of Con- 

 necticut. The building is located be- 

 tween the seashore and the country. 

 In accessibility it could not be better. 

 It is in a commanding position, and 

 only two or three minutes' walk from 

 the Greenwich station and the main 

 line of the trolley cars. Every resident 

 of Greenwich, Stamford, Fairfield 

 County, Connecticut, every quarry- 

 man, every naturalist, every fisherman, 

 every clam digger, every collector, 

 everybody is cordially invited to con- 

 tribute, not something that he wants 

 to get out of the house, but something 

 that he regards as the best, the nearest 

 and dearest to his heart, the most ex- 

 pressive, the most valuable or the most 

 inspirational ; give it and give gladly. 



Agassiz said that a museum or labor- 

 atory is a sacred place. It is true. 

 Sacred, indeed, for the great Creator's 

 handiwork, sacred as the place where 

 His Work is pronounced. With this 

 in view, it is not out of place to quote, 

 "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver." 

 The Bruce Museum wants what you 

 want, not what you do not want. If 

 you do not want it, the chances are that 

 nobody else wants it. If you have a 

 fine collection of minerals, gems, birds, 

 curios, antiques, something choice and 

 dear to your heart, something that you 

 would take as much pride in showing 

 as an exhibitor takes at a fair, then 

 that is your best, and you should give 

 it for the good of the Cause and for 

 the good of all. The greater your 

 pride in your beautiful collection, the 

 greater your appreciation, the greater 

 should be your pleasure in placing it 

 where it will do the greatest good to 

 the greatest number. 



