May 13, 1897] 



NATURE 



33 



Museum — and he was afraid people were inclined to imagine 

 the Museum to cope with that magnificent receptacle for the 

 bearded woman and the two-headed calf. The aim, however, 

 of this Museum was that it should really be, in a sort of way, 

 the home of research in South Africa ; that whatever scientific 

 research there was in South Africa should find its home within 

 the walls of the South African Museum, and that the collections 

 should be so arranged as to illustrate the different branches of 

 scientific research in that country. The Museum was under the 

 general direction of Mr. Sclater, who had thrown himself into 

 his work with a zeal and efficiency which left nothing to be 

 desired. He had taken upon himself the management of the 

 special branch— that of mammalia — the largest animals of 

 South Africa. These were a vanishing class, owing to the 

 rapidity of progress ; for the spirit of civilisation was rapidly 

 destroying all these interesting animals, which made South 

 Africa at one time famous throughout the world. 



It was sixty years ago since the great naturalist, Darwin, drew 

 a remarkable picture of the mammalia of South Africa. He 

 drew attention to the fact that the mammalia of South 

 Africa were the largest and most numerous in the whole 

 world ; and he compared them with the mammalia of Brazil, 

 and showed in what an extraordinary proportion the weight of 

 our animals exceeded that of the South American animals. 

 Now they had got rid of their mammalia here, and were 

 importing frozen meat ; and this could hardly be said to be 

 improving nature. Before the mammalia were extinct, it 

 was very desirable that a collection of them should be formed, 

 and they would see a beginning had been made in this direction. 

 Another branch the assistant curator, Mr. Peringuey, had taken 

 under his charge, viz. the important division of entomology, or 

 the study of insects. Some people, little thinking of the im- 

 portant part insects played in the world, smiled, but it was an 

 insect that cost France more than the Franco-Prussian war ; it 

 was an insect that formed their most acute political differences 

 in this country. When he ran through the important part that 

 insect-life played, he sometimes wondered how it was possible 

 for man to exist on the face of the earth at the same time. They 

 also had another gentleman working in the same direction as 

 Mr. Peringuey, viz. Mr. Lounsbury, the able entomologist. 

 They wished, however, to make the Museum the home of insect 

 life — though not of live insects. 



Dr. Corstorphine was in charge of the geological section of 

 the Museum, which up to the present time had been neglected. 

 Dr. Corstorphine was making good progress, and in connection 

 with that the Geological Commission had its home in the South 

 African Museum. I)r. Purcell, a South African, had set a fine 

 example. After studying in the science schools of Europe, he 

 came out here to spend his life ; he was in charge of the inverte- 

 brate section ; and finally there was Mr. Gilchrist, who had 

 come out as an expert upon fisheries, and who was in charge of 

 the marine section. So that all the branches were fairly well 

 organised, and the scheme, they would admit, was a good one if 

 it could be carried out. For the organisation the greatest thanks 

 were due to his two fellow trustees, whose zeal and energy 

 deserved all praise. On the Board of Trustees he represented 

 the Philistine element, so he could lay no claim to credit for the 

 scheme of scientific research. 



Only one thing seemed to be lacking, and that was a very com- 

 mon thing indeed — that was, that they needed funds ; they were 

 crippled for want of money. Some of the gentlemen he had 

 mentioned were working simply for the love of science, whilst 

 others were working on a pittance which some of them would 

 not think well to give to their upper clerks. They lamented in 

 this country that they had not some of those liberal men who in 

 America had identified themselves with scientific institutions. 

 Parliament had been liberal enough in these matters, and it 

 afforded him great pleasure in this connection to say that to Sir 

 Gordon Sprigg they had a right to be thankful, because he had 

 always acted to them, he would not say with liberality, because 

 that was not the word to use in connection with public funds, 

 but with a just appreciation which had not always been met with 

 amongst his predecessors. Not only as head of the Government, 

 but as a personality he called upon the Premier to formally open 

 the institution in which they now found themselves. 



Sir Gordon Sprigg said he remembered the South African 

 Museum in the year 1858, in which year he first went to that 

 country. From that time to the present, from a public, not 

 from a scientific point of view, he had taken a very great interest 

 in the institution, and it aflorded him very great pleasure indeed 



NO. 1437, VOL. 56] 



to declare the Museum open to the public. Those who had had 

 an opportunity of visiting the Natural History Museum at South 

 Kensington would see that the trustees had endeavoured to 

 follow out in every possible way the design of that great institu- 

 tion. After the very interesting speech delivered by ,,Mr. 

 Merriman, which explained the objects of the institution and 

 the designs of the trustees who had brought it to its present con- 

 dition — something like approaching to perfection — he would not 

 weary them with any further words, but would simply declare 

 the Museum open for the public. At the same time the trustees 

 recognised the fact that they had never appealed to him in vain 

 for funds, and so long as he held his present position they never 

 would appeal to him in vain. From time to time, so long as he 

 held the position he now held, it would always afford him great 

 pleasure to submit to Parliament any proposals submitted to him 

 for consideration. 



Dr. Gill said he had been requested by his fellow-trustees to 

 say a word about one who was one of his dearest friends, who 

 worked hard under great difficulties before a liberal — or should 

 he say a wise — Sir Gordon Sprigg arose. He was the one who 

 really bore the burden and the heat of the day, one who under 

 great discouragement persevered in creating the nucleus of the 

 Museum they were now about to see — and that man was Roland 

 Trimen, F. R. S. On an occasion like the present it would be a 

 great mistake if they were to omit the name of one who had 

 done so much for natural history in South Africa. Mr. Trimen 

 laid the foundation of that museum ; they all owed him a great 

 debt of gratitude, and they ought to remember it on that day. 



THE SCIENCE OF ART. 



PERHAPS the learned Dr. Bastian, of Berlin, has ap- 

 preciated more than any one else that the psycho- 

 logical aspect of anthropology requires far more attention 

 than has yet been devoted to it ; the present writer 

 would venture to assert that it is the department of 

 anthropology that most urgently requires students. No 

 doubt the subject is difficult, but the reward will be 

 great. Experimental and observational psychology have 

 received but scant attention in this countrj', and the 

 psychology of the lower races has been totally ignored 

 by us. 



Of late years several anthropologists have studied the 

 origin and modifications of the decorative designs of 

 savage peoples ; but only a very few of these have re- 

 cognised that the tracing out of the history of a pattern 

 or a design is of minor importance compared with the 

 psychological processes that induced the original selec- 

 tion of the motive, and that operated in its subsequent 

 elaboration or simplification. The scientific study of 

 decorative art is a branch of psychology. 



The editor of our contemporary Mind also appreciates 

 this fact, and so Prof. G. F. Stout has printed a paper on 

 "Evolution and Psychology in Art," by Dr. Colley March^ 

 in the October number of that journal. Dr. March 

 accepts the definition of art as given in Dr. Murray's 

 great dictionary : " Art is the application of skill to im- 

 plements of utility, to subjects of taste, such as poetry 

 and dancing, and to works of imitation and design, such 

 as painting, sculpture and architecture." For the sake 

 of convenience. Dr. March divides art into : (i) Artifice, 

 of purely utilitarian intention. (2) Artistic treatment, or 

 the shaping or arrangement of the details, parts, colours 

 or outlines of implements or structures, whether utilitarian 

 or not, so as to " please the eye." (3) Ornament : works 

 of utility are necessary ; man is compelled to make 

 things. We understand why, in the making, they should 

 be artistically treated, for the eye has always been accus- 

 tomed to see outlines that represent the most functionally 

 useful, and utility is always pleasing. It is not quite 

 so obvious why they should become the subject of Or- 

 nament. Ornament is a decoration applied to an object 

 which could exist quite well without it. Several examples 

 of every-day objects are given, which show that Orna- 

 ment sprang from structural handicraft, and became 



