206 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Naturally, the Museum is well filled with Natural History 

 specimens usually found in such places : stuffed animals, birds, 

 alcoholic specimens of fish, reptiles, and amphibia, and minera- 

 logical, geological, paleontological and ethnological specimens, 

 et cetera, and th6se interested in such things will find here 

 one of the largest collections in the world, but which I cannot 

 treat of here, as the object of my paper is to give some idea of 

 the insect collections. 



The Director of the Royal Berlin Museum is Prof. Dr. K. 

 Mobius, a distinguished savant, a good manager, and a most 

 amiable and agreeable gentlemen, who, after reading my letter 

 of introduction from Dr. Riley, showed me every possible atten 

 tion and virtually placed the collection at my disposal. He intro 

 duced me to the custodian, Dr. Karsch, and his assistant, Dr. 

 Kolbe, and I was at once admitted to the collections ad libitum. 



The insect collections are contained in two large, well- 

 lighted rooms, each 86 feet long by 53 feet wide, on the second 

 and third floors in the left hand wing of the building ; the one 

 on the second floor being for the display collection for the public, 

 arranged according to the different orders, in large glass show 

 cases, in which are displayed some of the larger and more 

 showy exotic insects, somewhat similar to the display collection 

 in our National Museum. On this floor, contiguous to this col 

 lection, are the office of Dr. Mobius, the library, and the offices 

 of other officials. 



The systematic collection, the offices of the custodian Dr. 

 Karsch, his assistant Dr. Kolbe, and others are on the floor 

 above, and to which no one is admitted without special per-* 

 mission. The room occupied by the systematic collections in 

 the different orders, contains several hundred thousand speci 

 mens, and one can imagine my wonder and delight on viewing, 

 for the first time, so large and wonderful a collection of exotic 

 insects. 



Down the center of this room is a row of pillars against which 

 are built, a short distance apart, iron show cases with large 

 glass doors, in which are shelves of thick glass, upon which is 

 placed the biologic and alcoholic material, viz., lepidopterous, 

 coleopterous, dipterous larvae, pupae, eggs, etc.; also, the col 

 lections of Arachnida (spiders and scorpions) and the Myriopoda. 

 They certainly make a beautiful display on the glass shelves. 



On either side of these cases are the wooden cases containing 

 the systematic collections, arranged in the following order : 



Right side Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Hemip- 

 tera. 



Left side Coleoptera, Neuroptera, and Orthoptera. 



All are arranged in the same size drawers, about 50 by 2 1 

 centimetres, or about the size Dr. Riley has adopted for the 



