RARE SPECIMENS. 95 



room we entered the Department of Paleontology. Here 

 were displayed a number of very well preserved fossils, but, 

 curiously enough, there were none from Mexico, all of them 

 being from European and North American beds. At the 

 farther end of the room were a number of plaster casts of 

 extinct animals, mostly Plesiosauri and other saurians of the 

 Jurassic and Liassic periods. To the right of the entrance 

 was the Mineralogical Department. Here, for the first time 

 we saw specimens from Mexico. The marbles, agates, 

 precious metals, calcites, etc., were well represented. 

 The arrangement was according to Dana, and the labels, 

 all handsomely printed with the scientific and common 

 names, locality, and formula, numbered according to liis 

 system. Larger labels were attached to the backs of the 

 cases, and designated to what group the specimens be- 

 longed. In the center of the hall was a gigantic stalactite, 

 four feet in length, from the ''Grata de Com/iuamUpa:' 



In the next hall beyond, we came to the Department 

 of Mammalogy. The collection was fairly well represented 

 by a number of carefully mounted specimens. Here we 

 saw a very good specimen of the rare Hyrax capensis, en- 

 closed in a handsome glass case. This animal, from 

 Australia, is exceedingly rare, but few museums possessing 

 specimens of it, and the Museo Nacional is to be congrat- 

 ulated in possessing so fine and rare a specimen. 



To the right was a case of Anthropoid apes; beyond 

 this a case containing representatives of the Family Felide. 

 Here were several fine specimens of Felis pardalis, Felis 

 onca, and Fe/is concohr, all from Mexico. We next came 

 to a case containing afine<:ollection of the Skunks. Among 

 these a good series of the Mephites mephitica and Mephites 

 macrura. Other specimens of note in this case were Lutra 

 fulma and Galictis vit/a/a. In the next case were repre- 

 sentatives of the domestic cat, Fe/is do?nestica, and in the 



