STUDIES ON MUSEUMS AND KINDRED INSTITUTIONS. 327 



Natural Histoiy in Now York i.s divided into 12 departments. The 

 department of public instruction stands at the head of the list, a cir- 

 cumstance which indipates the main object of the museum. The director 

 of this department constantly keeps in stock, so to speak, 400 lectures on 

 200 difierent subjects. One series is especially prepared for teachers, 

 another for the general public, a third for members of the museum 

 and their families. A person may become a member b}^ the annual 

 payment of $L0. In the j'ear 1902, 90 lectures were delivered before 

 27,000 persons." The Institute of Arts and Sciences in Brooklyn holds 

 annually more than 4,000 meetings with lectures, exhibitions, and 

 instruction for more than 250,000 persons.^ A considerable part of 

 these lectures and exhibitions devolves upon the museum of the insti- 

 tute which is established upon a very large scale. It would be a mis- 

 take to suppose that upon this account the scientitic affairs of the 

 above-named museums are neglected. These are more in the hands 

 of other officials. 



Pojxdar piMlcations. — Many museums publish guides and pam- 

 phlets on various subjects. In this respect again, the American Museum 

 of Natural History in New York takes the lead. We may recall, for 

 example, guides to the collection of })irds, guides to the geological 

 and paleontological collection; also, a quarterly museum journal, in 

 which all news relating to the museum is published in popular form; 

 and, finally, pamphlets such as The Butterflies of New York and Vicin- 

 ity, The North American Ruminants, The Collection of Minerals, and 

 many others. All are profusely illustrated and thousands of copies 

 are sold at moderate prices. 



Lending of collections. — In different museums, collections are lent 

 to public schools for educational purposes. For example, in the New 

 York Natural History Museum a large number of such collections of 

 50, 100, or more specimens each are laid aside and lent for varying 

 periods to the schools which apply for them. This is also done by the 

 New Y'ork State Museum at Albany and others. In the tirst-named 

 museum, school children with their teachers are allowed to study more 

 carefully certain reserve collections and even to handle the specimens. 

 Exceptional ability is, of course, required for the administration of 

 such establishments, but the American citizen now demands that the 

 museums make themselves useful in as many ways as possible, and 

 continually provide some incentive to o))servation and study. 



Time of open in </. — The American museums are almost universally 

 open daily from morning till evening, free of charge. On the other 

 hand, the number of custodians is small as compared with P^ui-opean 

 museums. The citizen of the United States rarely steals public prop- 



«Annnal Report, American Musenin of Natural Hwtory, New York, 1902, p. 28. 

 ^ See my American Museum lieports, I, p. 9, loc. cit. 



