282 Ornithology in the International Exhibition. 



It will DO doubt be in the memory of many of our readers 

 that about a year ago there was published in the newspapers a 

 memorial^ addressed to Her Majesty^s Commissioners for the 

 International Exhibition^ and bearing the signatures of about a 

 score of naturalists — some the most eminent in their particular 

 lines that the country produces. This document requested the 

 " establishment of a class solely devoted to articles illustrating 

 the various methods of preserving zoological and botanical speci- 

 mens." To it the Commissioners replied^ through their Secretary, 

 that the arrangement of the, classes being then settled, it was too 

 late to make any alteration therein, but that they would so far yield 

 to the prayer of the memorialists as to establish a " subclass " 

 for the reception of such specimens. Accordingly the visitors 

 to Bromptou who will take the trouble of scaling the almost 

 alpine heights of the central tower in the Exhibition Building 

 will have pi*esented to their breathless gaze the collected results 

 of this memorial, in the shape of various stuffed birds and beasts, 

 divers trays of shells and fossils, and sundry sea-weeds displayed 

 on cartridge-paper, side by side with books, maps, diagrams and 

 globes, school-fittings and furniture, wax-dolls, toys and games ! 

 We must confess, after a rather minute examination of these spe- 

 cimens, termed in the Official Catalogue " Illustrations of Ele- 

 mentary Science," that we honestly thank the Commissioners for 

 placing this exhibition of the art of taxidermy at an elevation so 

 lonely and so inaccessible ; for we hope it may thereby escape the 

 notice and the criticisms of our brother-naturalists from aboad. 

 A more sorry show it is scarcely possible to conceive ; for the spe- 

 cimens contributed by Messrs. Bartlett and Son, good as they 

 are — especially the case of gorgeous Psittacidce — hardly come up 

 to what might have been expected of the skilful restorer of the 

 Dodo, and altogether fail to cover the shortcomings of the rest 

 of the collection. Mr. Ward shows an albino Colymbus sepfen- 

 trionaiis, which we have some hesitation in considering " unique," 

 as he labels it ; and Mr. Wilson has two birds fairly stuffed ; but 

 of the other works exhibited the less said the better. In the exercise 

 of common charity we refrain from naming those " naturalists," 

 chiefly of the metropolis, who have here shown so small an ap- 

 preciation of nature. It is only right to say that Mr. John 



