;66 



NATURE 



[July h, 191 8 



further and say that the habitat groups in 

 some of the American museums are fully deserv- 

 ing of the high praise Dr. Evermann claims for 

 them. 



structed a large exhibition hall measuring i8o ft. 

 by 60 ft. This is subdivided into two galleries, 

 devoted respectively to mammals and birds. The 

 regulation size for a large case is 25 ft. in width, 



Fig. t.— San Joaquin Valley " Elk " {Ccrviis nan 



The system adopted is to illustrate a particular 

 species of animal, or a selection of species living 

 together in the same environment, in a case of 



1.0 'es). Museum of the California Academy of Sciences. 



12 ft. in depth, and 18 ft. in height, the plate- 

 glass front measuring 15 ft. by 10 ft. The mam- 

 mal hall contains eleven of these large cases, and 



Fig. 2.-Stelle 



)n (Eitiiieto/n'as stclleri). Museum of the Califonii.i Academy of .Sciences. 



sufiicient size to include a complete landscape, in 

 which the animals are seen as they actually occur 

 in the field. With this object in view, the museum 

 of the California Academy of Sciences has con- 

 NO. 2541, VOL. lOl] 



the bird hall possesses six, in addition to a series 

 of smaller cases for exhibits on a less ambitious 

 scale. 



In most museums the visibility of the objects is 



I 



