1894. NATURAL SCIENCE IN JAPAN. 185 



European and largely supplemented by casts, but there are a few 

 Quaternary mammalia of native origin. 



Catalogues, printed in English and Japanese, are issued for these 

 three departments, but they are nothing more than lists of names and 

 localities. That to the geological collections is by Mr. M. Nishi, 

 while the zoological catalogue is drawn up by Messrs. Ch. Ishikawa 

 and T. Yuakawa. 



The archaeological collections of the Museum, though of 

 considerable interest, must not now detain us ; nor can one do more 

 than mention the exhibition of native and foreign manufactures, 

 designed to promote the industries of the country, or the various 

 models of native and foreign engineering works. These, as well as the 

 beautiful exhibits of pure and decorative art, are beyond our province. 

 The curators of all departments seem to be doing their work with as 

 much zeal as intelligence ; but of course a foreigner is not skilled to 

 judge of the merits of the Japanese labels. It was, by the way, curious 

 that, when I visited the Museum, I could find no official with whom 

 to converse to more than a very limited extent in any European 

 language. In this respect the Museum officials contrasted with those at 

 the University and the Geological Survey. I must not however omit 

 to recognise the courtesy of the Director of the Museum, Mr. Kanaye 

 Kubota, who gave me every information in his power. 



We have now considered the chief government establishments 

 connected with natural science in Japan. A few lines only need be 

 devoted to the Learned Societies and minor institutions. 



Of Societies the names are legion. As Professor Chamberlain 

 says : — " The Japanese of our day have taken kindly to societies and 

 associations of all sorts. They doubtless feel that their nation has 

 to make up now for the long abstinence from such co-operative 

 activity which was enforced during the Tokugawa regime, when it 

 was penal for more than five persons to club together for any purpose." 

 The Geographical Society, or Chigaku Kai, is a private society with 

 about 30 members. The Anthropological Society numbers about 

 100, and publishes a bulletin which is in Japanese but contains 

 illustrations showing that a vast amount of interesting matter is 

 treated of in its pages. The office of the society is at No. 5, Roku- 

 chome, Hongo, Tokio. The Botanical Society publishes in both 

 Japanese and English. The Zoological, which has about 75 

 members, publishes in Japanese, but the diagnoses of new species 

 are usually given in some language more intelligible to the world 

 at large. Besides these, there are a Seismological, a Chemical, 

 a Physico- Mathematical, a Geographical, a Philosophical, an 

 Engineering and an Electrical Society, with others more or less 

 connected with science, some of which also publish transactions. 

 The members of these societies are few compared with those of 

 societies with more practical objects. Thus, the Sanitary Society 

 has a membership of over 6,000, the Educational Society over 4,000, 



