THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



gated body and rounded back, suggest the dog more than any 

 other famihar animal. The head shows much more horse char- 

 acter, yet its small size in comparison with the body, the short 

 face, and the very forward position of the eyes are striking char- 

 acters in which it differs from its modern descendant. 



NEWS NOTES. 



The co-operation of the Museum with the public schools of 

 the city has been greatly extended during the past few months. 

 One of the features of this co-operation has been the preparation 

 and distribution of "circulating collections" in each of several 

 branches of natural science. These collections represent the 

 most common species among (i.), Native Birds, (2.) Mollusks, 

 (3.) Echinoderms and Worms, (4.) Insects, (5.) Crustaceans, 

 (6.) Sponges and Corals and (7.) Minerals and Rocks. The 

 sets are accompanied by brief explanatory notes prepared by 

 the Curators for the assistance of the teachers of the nature-study 

 classes. These collections are in great demand for work among 

 the classes of the first four grades. They are loaned upon cer- 

 tain conditions which may be learned upon application to the 

 Director. A more detailed account of this work may be expected 

 in a later issue of the Journal. 



In the higher grades of the schools the study of geography 

 and history takes the place of the nature-study work of the lower 

 grades, and in order to assist the teachers of these classes illus- 

 trated lectures have been given in the Assembly Room of the 

 Museum to many groups of pupils accompanied by their teachers. 

 For the most part these lectures, or talks, thus far have been upon 

 the industries of the United States. The subjects are deter- 

 mined by the needs of the teachers applying for the assistance 

 and by the lantern-slides which are available at the Museum. 

 Out of this work have grown requests for addresses to larger 

 bodies of pupils. One such request came from Public Schools 

 Nos. T,T, and 56, with the result that on March 8, Dr. Clark Wissler, 

 Assistant Curator of Ethnology, lectured on the Indians of North 

 America to 1087 pupils from these two schools alone. 



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