ously cared for and preserved. Even in these greater institutions it 
is not always certain that the best of precautions will be taken. In 
the smaller institutions it is almost certain that sooner or later 
misfortune will overtake such collections. The reason for this is 
not hard to find. In smaller institutions in general the scientific 
staff consists of at best but a few persons. The Professor of Natural 
History is to-day an entomologist; to-morrow he is succeeded by 
a geologist. The geologist does not know about the collections 
carefully acquired by his predecessor. The boxes full of « bugs » 
are left to be the prey of pests and mould, while he is happy in 
collecting fossils. In turn he is succeeded it may be by a botanist. 
His time is limited, his duties are many. He is interested in his 
herbarium. The herbarium grows apace while the « bugs » are 
devoured by Mites and Anthrenus, and the « fossil bones » are 
dumped into the courtyard. 
In Great Britain the Natural History Museum in London is be- 
coming more and more recognized as the proper place for the 
deposition of types. In France the National Museum is the proper 
resting-place for such collections. The Royal Museum in Berlin 
and the Imperial Museums in Vienna and St. Petersburg are well 
equipped to receive and care for such collections. In the United 
States the National Museum in Washington, the Zoological 
Museum in Cambridge, the American Museum in New York, the 
Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, the Carnegie 
Institute in Pittsburgh, and the Field Museum in Chicago are in 
a position to carefully preserve for all time the treasures committed 
to their keeping. But outside of the institutions I have named 
there are not at the present time in America any institutions to the 
custody of which in my judgment such material should be con- 
signed. College and university museums the world over are as a 
rule the very worst places into which to put types or typical 
material. There may be a few honorable exceptions, but they are 
very few. 
There is another matter which suggests itself in this connection, 
and that relates to the transmission of types and typical material 
to experts for study. In view of the importance of this material 
I think it is in the main well for institutions entrusted with its cust- 
