The American Museum and College Zoology 



By J. H. McGregor 



Associate Professor of Zoology in Columbia University, and Research Associate in Anthropology, American 



Museum of Natural History 



AS a teacher of zoology in Colum- 

 bia University the \\Titer has, 

 during the past few years, made 

 increasing use of the exceptional facil- 

 ities afforded by the American Museum 

 of Natural History as an adjunct to 

 regular class work. The following state- 

 ment sets forth what these teaching 

 facilities are and how they may be 

 utilized. Of course the scope of the 

 Museum's activities today is far broader 

 than the field of natural history- in the 

 old restricted sense, but the present 

 notes will be limited to the domain of 

 zoology. 



Until within the last two decades 

 most zoological museums were little 

 more than systematic collections of 

 "specimens," stuffed skins and mounted 

 skeletons of mammals and birds, al- 

 coholic preserves of invertebrates and 

 cold-blooded vertebrates, cases of in- 

 sects, shells, and fossils, all duly labeled 

 as to genus, species, and locality. Such 

 collections are of value to the taxonomist 

 and undoubtedly of considerable inter- 

 est to the general public, but they really 

 tell very little about any particular 

 animal, except as regards its form and 

 external features. It is true that the 

 American Museum, even twenty years 

 ago, was much more than such a mere 

 collection of species, but especially 

 during the last fifteen years the Mu- 

 seum has undertaken to show, not 

 merely how animals appear in life, but 

 their essentials of structure, their habits, 

 relation to environment, and in many 

 cases their life histories. Forms so 

 mounted as to appear absolutely lifelike 

 are exhibited in settings which simulate 



exactly their natural surroundings, and 

 in many cases even microscopic or- 

 ganisms such as Protozoa, Rotifera, 

 and Bryozoa are represented down to the 

 finest details of structure, by greatly 

 enlarged models marvelously wrought 

 in glass and wax, and in some cases with 

 their environment correspondingly mag- 

 nified. The aim at present is, in short, 

 to tell as much as possible about the 

 animals and their ways of living. 



The Museum avowedly performs a 

 threefold function; first, the develop- 

 ment of its collections, involving constant 

 and extensive field work and explora- 

 tion; second, research, as evidenced by 

 the numerous volumes of "memoirs" 

 and "bulletins" ^ the scientific staff 

 is prolific in original investigations; 

 and third, education. As a factor in 

 popular education the role of the Mu- 

 seum is probably very generally realized, 

 but its service in connection with the 

 more technical college and university 

 study of zoology, while no less real, is 

 perhaps less generally appreciated. 



In the first place should be mentioned 

 the thoroughly cordial attitude of the 

 Museum authorities. The President, 

 the Director, and in the writer's experi- 

 ence all the officers of the Museum, not 

 merely tolerate but welcome the use of 

 the Museum facilities by students. In 

 the case of Columbia University the 

 cooperation has been especially close, 

 as a number of men are connected with 

 both institutions as professors and 

 curators. In numerous cases researches 

 by graduate students are based upon 

 Museum material. Indeed, for some 

 years the department of vertebrate 



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