.\nii.i.\(!i:Mi:\T i.\ iim.i.s or .wTiinoroi.ocy 2"^ 



develop, he is at lilxTty to do so and will not liiid his (li.i,dit iiiiprdcd for lack 

 of insight into the true relation of things, for sliould ;i museum olheer 

 decide this jioint for liimseH" and select out ull the house models for exhihi- 

 tioii in a >inL;l(' liall, ai-i'anging them according to his notion, the visitor 

 could not si'c each type in its projjcr cultiu-;d setting. The {)oiut however 

 is this: scarcely any two anthropolo<iists ai'e agreed upon uny one of such 

 sequences and until they are, or imtil the facts axailahlc make a dclinite 

 conchision ine\it:il)lc, it is imi)ossil)le to ha\-e other tlum a geographical 

 arrangement in our exhibition halls. There are, of course, .some very 

 fundamental prolilems now occupying the minds of anthropologists, hut 

 their working hyi)othesis is a geograj)hical classification of cultures rather 

 than an evolutionary hypothesis. 



The general cultiu'al \alue of such comparative studies as methods of 

 fire-making and hou.se tyjx's is obvious. In the ca.sc of fire-making, we iiave 

 real historical data on the evolution of matches, and know that they were 

 preceded In ilint and steel and wood friction. We a,re not (juite sm-e that 

 wood friction was first, hut think it safe to a.ssume as much. Beyond this 

 we cannot go, ])ut wc feel that the child who sees the various methods 

 demonstrated in school and sees real specimens in museiun collections, is 

 likely to grasj) some fimdamental principles of j)ractical life as well as the 

 significance of certain physical and chemical conceptions. The same is 

 true of house types, canoe types, hatchet types, food types, and e\ery other 

 phase of culture. 



A SYMPOSIUM OF EXPRESSIONS FROM PRIMARY AND 

 GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 



THE following (piotations representing a few of the many letters 

 reeei\'ed from i)rincipals and teachers of the Public Schools can 

 btit make the Museum lunnble before the vastness of its oppor- 

 tunity, the far reaching of e\'en the smallest effort put forth, and again 

 proud that the American Museum was the institution to which came the 

 rare fortune of devel()i)ing the working system of cooperation with the 

 schools. 



The Musemn holds an unusual opportunity as providing free and 

 pleasurable instruction in the heart of New York. Moreover, it is an insti- 



