623 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



operated with Dr. Kobert Underwood John- 

 son, president of the New York Committee 

 of the Italian War Eelief Fund of America, 

 in the work of examination, selection, and 

 preparation for shipment of a number of 

 compound microscopes suitable for bacterio- 

 logical work, to be forwarded to Italy for 

 use in the field hospitals. Many of the 

 microscopes were donated, ten being given 

 by the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory. Others were purchased by the Italian 

 War Relief Fund. Two shipments have 

 already gone and another, the final one, is 

 in course of preparation. The lens require- 

 ments for these instruments are important 

 as the character of the work to be done 

 demands a certain equipment embodying 

 high magnifications, which the ordinary stu- 

 dent's microscope does not often possess. 



A COMMISSION on the study and control 

 of epidemic influenza has been appointed by 

 Governor Whitman of New York State. Dr. 

 Hermann M. Biggs, State Commissioner of 

 Health, is chairman; Dr. Walter B. James, 

 vice chairman ; and Dr. C.-E. A. Winslow, 

 secretary. 



Ix addition to the brief description of the 

 American Museum's work with the blind 

 printed in this number of the Journal (page 

 572), we give here a quotation from a letter 

 to the Editor from Miss Frances E. Moscrip, 

 Inspector of Classes for the Blind in New 

 York City: "It gives me great pleasure to 

 express my appreciation of the American 

 Museum's work accomplished in connection 

 with the blind and sight conservation classes 

 of the public schools. The expensive relief 

 globes which have been furnished to all of 

 the classes are daily a source of information 

 and delight, not only to the blind and partly 

 sighted pupils but also to the normal pupils 

 who are associated with them. Several prin- 

 cipals have told me how envious they felt 

 that the globes could not be furnished to 

 the whole school. You would hardly recog- 

 nize some of the globes, they are so dotted 

 with principal cities, lined with important 

 rivers, steamship and railroad routes, and 

 marked with mountain ranges and interest- 

 ing peaks. The alternating days and nights 

 and the changing seasons have been ex- 

 plained and clarified also through the use of 

 these wonderful globes. Nothing that has 

 been furnished to the special classes in the 



schools, however, can take the place of the 

 little excursions the children make to the Mu- 

 seum. On these occasions your instructors 

 have acquainted them with Indians, Eskimos, 

 Oriental peoples, and their interesting man- 

 ners and customs. I well remember the 

 delight of one child who took a ride on a 

 fully equipped Eskimo sled, drawn by a dog 

 with all his trappings. The child's imagina- 

 tion supplied the snow and cold and other 

 features of a real trip in polar regions. The 

 work in connection with the native birds and 

 domestic animals has stimulated the child's 

 interest in his surroundings and in the study 

 of geography. Intimate knowledge of flow- 

 ers and cereals gained at the Museum lec- 

 tures is one which might never be acquired 

 from Nature herself nor from the studies in 

 school except in a more limited measure. 

 Many of the older pupils, especially the high 

 school students, have ajspreciated the even- 

 ing lectures, and the assistance the Museum 

 has rendered in defraying the exjienses to 

 and from both the afternoon and evening 

 lectures has made possible the attendance of 

 many who could not otherwise have taken 

 advantage of them." 



The Journal hopes to publish in the De- 

 cember issue an account by Miss Moscrip of 

 her work with the sight conservation classes 

 in the New York public schools. 



Mr. George Chamberlain, assistant in 

 the department of publications of the 

 American Museum, died on October 29, 1918, 

 after a long illness. He was a native of 

 England, and came to the United States in 

 1897, and had been in the employ of the 

 Museum since February 6, 1909. He is 

 deeply missed by a large circle of acquaint- 

 ances and friends. 



Miss Martha Eyther, a well-known tex- 

 tile designer in New York City, connected 

 with the firm of H. E. Mallinson & Company, 

 is conducting a class in textile design which 

 meets at the American Museum every Wed- 

 nesday afternoon. The membership of the 

 class is made up of designers in the textile 

 and garment industries and members of the 

 Keramic Society of America. The study is 

 based upon the large resources of the Mu- 

 seum in original documents of Peruvian and 

 other prehistoric textile material. 



An article on "Ancient Peruvian Textile 

 Designs," in a recent issue of the British 



