OF OBJECTS IN NATURAL HISTORY. 497 



to the successful study of Natural History. But the number 

 and consequent expence of these make their acquisition with- 

 in the reach of but very few. Many splendid works of this 

 kind have been published ; but where the artist is not him- 

 self a naturalist, or has not worked under the immediate su- 

 perintendence of one intimately acquainted with the objects 

 represented, the chance of error in the delineation of minute 

 or characteristic parts is much increased. Hence the small 

 comparative value of those collections of engraved figures 

 which generally accompany popular compilations on Natural 

 History ; and the value of original works where the objects 

 have been figured from Nature, by a person qualified to copy 

 the minute particulars of the original. But after all, in the 

 study of Natural History, nothing can compensate for the want 

 of a museum, where the structure of the individuals themselves 

 can be studied, and frequent observation of the native species. 

 One animal, or plant, or mineral, observed in its native habitat 

 is worth a thousand figures ; and gives a more accurate idea 

 of the structure and manners of congenerous objects than 

 volumes of description, unaccompanied by reference to the 

 great field of practical study. 



Since the study of Nature has become of general interest, 

 Museums of objects in Natural History have been established 

 in all the capitals of Europe. In Britain, however, notwith- 

 standing the possession of extensive colonies and commercial 

 establishments in every quarter of the globe, little advan- 

 tage has hitherto been taken of the means in the power of 

 government for procuring exotic specimens ; and while in a 

 neighbouring country expeditions have been set on foot, under 

 the superintendence of qualified men, to investigate the natural 

 and other products of distant countries, objects of a similar kind 

 have occupied but a small portion of attention in Britain. The 

 Royal Museum at Paris is an example of what can be achieved 

 when the pursuit of science is patronized by the State ; and 

 from the Professors of that Institution, the greater portion of 

 the accurate information in Natural History has been deriv- 

 ed. In Britain, the largest public collection is the British 

 Museum ; and a Society has been lately established in the 

 Metropolis, for supporting a menagerie for the study of liv- 

 ing animals. In Edinburgh, the College Museum, under 



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