REMARKS ON MUSEUMS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 279 



on the public days, the visitors may purchase a synopsis, giving a de- 

 scription of the contents, or take any other work with them to com- 

 pare the descriptions, or plates, with the specimens, or even com- 

 pare specimens themselves, which is often done to a great extent : 

 and they may take any notes, description, or drawing of the speci- 

 mens, without fear of their being interrupted. Should the parties 

 require a more accurate examination of, or wish to make drawings 

 from, any of the specimens, two days in each week are set apart for 

 their use. 



In speaking of the Paris Museum, I may refer to an advantage 

 that collection has possessed which has not been enjoyed by any other; 

 that of having all the specimens from the local collections in France 

 sent to it, from which its professors selected what specimens were 

 wanted for their collection, and the duplicates were then divided 

 into series illustrative of the arrangement of the animal kingdom, 

 and one of this series was sent back to each of the local collections. 

 This is an arrangement that could only be made in a country like 

 France, where all such collections are public property. Napoleon, 

 also, sent to it the specimens which were taken from the museums 

 of the various towns over-run by his armies, few of which were re- 

 turned at the Peace ; for even Holland was satisfied, after a time, 

 to receive duplicates from the French collection in return for the 

 specimens taken from the celebrated museum at Amsterdam. Of 

 late years the Dutch government have constantly employed eight 

 travelling Naturalists in various parts of the world, to replenish its 

 collection ; and the duplicates are used to increase their collections 

 by exchanges with other museums, or are distributed to the local 

 collections.* 



With the advantages that the Paris Museum has enjoyed, it ought 



* The museums of Leyden, Berlin, and Vienna, also employ travelling 

 collectors, but not to the extent of the French government. It is curious 

 to observe the effect of this manner of obtaining specimens in the various 

 institutions. The collection is generally richest in tbe productions of those 

 countries where these collectors have been stationed : thus, the Berlin 

 Museum is rich in Mexican, Cape, and Red Sea animals ; the Vienna in 

 Brazilian ; and Leyden in Javanese, Japanese, and Cape specimens. The 

 Paris Museum, from the number of its collectors, approaches nearer to 

 the English collections, which entirely depend on the industry 6i travellers 

 or the enterprise of her merchants ; and it is, I believe, from the great 

 extent of her trade that more specimens are brought to this country than 

 to all the rest of Europe together, as the foreign collectors appear to have 

 discovered by the repeated visits they pay to England for the purpose of 

 purchasing specimens. 



