312 



THE GL'IDE TO NATURE 



ings and plaster casts of celebrated statu- 

 ary are obtainable at a reasonable cost. 

 These will serve all working purposes. 

 The lack of such a collection lias more 

 than once been lamented 'by art lovers. 



The Department of Natural History 

 must of necessity play an important role 

 in the life of the Museum. The study of 

 birds is a never ending source of pleas- 

 ure. Already a fairly complete collection 

 of mounted specimens of resident birds 

 is at hand, the beauty and variety of 

 which are both surprising and pleasing. 

 A well-organized Bird Club with the 

 Museum as headquarters could work 

 wonders for bird protection and in the 

 dissemination of love for our feathered 

 beauties. 



In entomology we have a powerful 

 lever for good. Butterflies, moths, bee- 

 tles interest almost every boy. Let us 

 form field classes, show the boys where 

 and how the caterpillar lives, how it 

 metamorphoses and finally emerges from 

 chrysalis and cocoon. Show the boy that 

 any old log may be a perfect mine of sur- 

 prises, and that under a piece of bark a 

 treasure is often found. Show him how 

 to prepare, preserve and mount his speci- 

 men and there will be no flagging of in- 

 terest. Furthermore, the lessons in the 

 propagation of life may thus be taught in 

 such a manner that the subject is at once 

 removed from the domain of the morbid 

 and the mysterious, and becomes a nat- 

 ural phenomenon. 



Botany will appeal especially to the 

 girls. Field classes will again be the in- 

 strument of study and pleasure. Flowers 

 and ferns, leaves and grasses will be col- 

 lected, dried and preserved. Drawings 

 made of the different stages of plant de- 

 velopment could be framed and kept for 

 future comparison. A multitude of inter- 

 esting things will be found afield to add 

 a continuous zest to the work. 



Zoology will find its devotees, for there 

 are many creatures whose lairs may be 

 visited, and whose habits and actions may 

 be watched and studied. Many beautiful 

 shells are found on our own shores. For 

 the student of conchologv there is an 

 abundance of material. The Aquarium 

 Club will adequately meet the needs of 

 those interested in fishes. 



Boys and girls not interested in any of 

 these subjects may find their pleasure in 

 geology and mineralogy. Here again 

 field and laboratory classes will supply 



the incentive to get in touch with the 

 "Great Outdoors." The many ways in 

 which such an institution can make an 

 indelible impression on the lives of our 

 rising generation will readily present 

 themselves to all who read these lines. 



A trained curator is to be in charge of 

 the Museum. Without trained supervi- 

 sieTn chaos would soon reign. The plan 

 is endorsed by the Stamford ^ledical 

 Association, by Dr. William J- Long, Dr. 

 Robert T. ^Morris and Dr. William T. 

 Hornaday, Curator of the Bronx Zoologi- 

 cal Park. Already a goodly membership 

 has been secured. But much remains to 

 l3e done. Every one is earnestly urged 

 to become a member of the Stamford 

 Museum Society, so that we may soon 

 give to our city an institution to which we 

 mav point with pride as the result of our 

 own efforts. 



The Only Known Albino Frog. 



The "N. Y. Zoological Society Bulle- 

 tin" reports an albino frog captured by 

 Henry Snyder, the son of the Head 

 Keeper of Reptiles, at Scarsdale, West- 

 chester County, New York, and by him 

 presented to the Zoological Park. The 

 "Bulletin" states : "When this speci- 

 men first was seen with some normally 

 colored green frogs, it was thought to 

 be a diseased specimen, but the young 

 collector wisely considered it worth 

 while to take home the specimen and 

 show it to his father. Mr. Snyder im- 

 mediately realized the rarity and im- 

 portance of the find. Out of the thous- 

 ands of frogs that during the past fif- 

 teen years have been caught for our 

 reptile collection, no one who has 

 caught and otherwise handled many 

 thousands of frogs for quite a number 

 of years, ever previously has secured 

 an albino specimen. The writer has 

 recently examined all available records, 

 and has failed to find any mention of 

 an albino frog having been caught in 

 the United States. Europe can show 

 records of several species of frogs and 

 toads in which albinism occurs from 

 time to time, but this is the first speci- 

 men recorded for America. 



"The specimen referred to is a com- 

 mon pond frog, {Rana clamitans) such 

 as may be found in almost any brook, 

 ditch, pool or freshwater swamp. Its 

 color is a waxy yellowish white on all 

 upper surface, and milkv-white under- 



