American Association of Museums 47 



Whenever a figure of any specimen can be secured it is placed 

 alongside the specimen, on the same block. This is often of consider- 

 able importance in connection with an adequate display of fossil 

 plants, as many interesting specimens are too obscure to be readily 

 discerned without close scrutiny and frequently require the use of a 

 hand lens in order to detect details. Many such specimens, some of 

 them types, would be useless for display purposes without the accom- 

 panying figures. 



These several features of the labeling are thought to include about 

 all the explanatory matter that is required for the information of the 

 average visitor; but experience has demonstrated that there are 

 many who lack even the elementary knowledge necessary to under- 

 stand what the wording of the labels is designed to express. This 

 matter will be discussed later on. 



SPECIAL FEATURES 



Aside from the educational value of the collections as a whole, in 

 illustrating the ancestry and evolution of our living flora, many of 

 them are, individually, of historical as well as scientific interest, 

 especially those which represent material collected during the prose- 

 cution of well-known government explorations and surveys. 



Among the latter may be mentioned the collection made in Aus- 

 tralia in 1838-1842, by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, described in 

 the report by Professor Dana, and those secured during the period 



