NATURE 



385 



THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1900. 



A MUSEUM CATALOGUE. 



Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physio- 

 logical Series of Comparative Anatomy contained in 

 the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of 

 England. Vol. i. Second edition. Pp. xlix + 160. 

 (London : Taylor and Francis, 1900.) 



OF the catalogues of the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 rendered famous by the labours of Hunter, 

 Owen and Flower, but one in osteology, by Dr. 

 R. Bowdler Sharpe, and one in teratology, by Mr. 

 B. Thompson Lowne, have appeared during the 

 present conservator's term of office. Prof. Charles 

 Stewart, unlike his predecessor in this office, who con- 

 centrated his attention upon one special department, 

 has since his appointment greatly developed all sides of 

 the collection, and with the aid of his competent assistants 

 has added year by year specimens of surpassing value 

 and interest, which have become the admiration of all 

 beholders. The period of his conservatorship has been 

 one of unparalleled activity in all branches of zoology, 

 and in the labour of keeping pace with this he has not 

 been found wanting, as, for example, when, on the dis- 

 covery of the calcified teeth of the Monotreme, he pro- 

 duced from his rich store of material the famous specimen 

 which has since adorned his shelves, and shows more 

 than all others yet described. With this museum, as 

 with others in our own land, the Englishmen's colonising 

 instinct has come forcibly into play, in the accumulation 

 of objects, not merely of local interest, such as are 

 generally to be found in the museums of other countries, 

 but general and universal, wherefore the present catalogue 

 is of necessity based upon a matchless material. 



It is explained in the preface that the specimens 

 registered have been dealt with on the original Hunterian 

 lines, the intention being to bring together examples of 

 such structures in plants and animals as perform the 

 same function ; and comment is further made upon the 

 necessity for a large number of preparations " to supply 

 the places of those that have become worthless, and to 

 serve as illustrations of new discoveries, and phases of 

 thought." At the outset, necessity, begotten of progress 

 and advancement, is met by the propounding of a scheme, 

 clearly explained in the text, under which it is proposed 

 to distinguish, firstly, between "Structures concerned in 

 the preservation of the individual or to its advantage " 

 and those " concerned in the preservation of the race." 

 Under the former of these departments, sixteen headings 

 are included, under the latter eight ; and since the present 

 catalogue deals with but the first three of the former 

 series, those alone need be further remarked upon. They 

 read " Endoskeleton ' ; "Flexible Bonds of Union and 

 Support " ; " Muscular and Allied Systems" ; but before 

 passing on to consider them more fully, it may be said 

 that they and the twenty-one headings of sections to 

 follow are, in the preliminary portion of this, the first 

 volume of a series, individually set out in greater detail, 

 each with a concise statement of the order of arrange- 

 NO. 1608, VOL. 62] 



ment to be adopted, and a definition, when necessary, 

 of what is implied in the heading it bears. 



The arrangement of each section is so framed as to 

 include both plants and animals, whenever possible, the 

 former being considered first, and each in ascending 

 order. Turning now to the three sections to be speci- 

 fically considered, we find specimens illustrating, under 

 the first, the chemical composition, structure, and mode 

 of formation of the various endoskeletal systems ; under 

 the second, the various forms of ligaments and joints ; 

 and under the third, the forms, structure and texture of 

 muscles. To particularise in these columns concerning 

 the details of either of these is impossible ; but it may 

 be said that no leading type of tissue or arrangement of 

 parts is unrepresented, and that preparations like that of 

 the cartilages of the cuttle, the elastic honeycomb of the 

 flexor carpi muscle of the elephant, or of the leaves of the 

 sensitive plant fixed in the diurnal position, must be seen 

 to be appreciated. 



The most attractive portions of the work are those 

 dealing with the marvellous array of processes occurring 

 in the growth of the coral skelet^on, and (as pertaining to 

 the study of joints and jointing) with the question of 

 adaptation in these to the conditions of existence. The 

 study of the general question of origin, detailed con- 

 stitution and relationship, of the coral skeleton, has for 

 years engrossed the attention of Prof. Stewart ; and to 

 our knowledge of this subject and the allied one of the 

 structural variations of the bony tissues of the osseous 

 fishes, he has in the long run added more than most 

 other investigators since von Kolliker. Beyond laying 

 this magnificent result of his labours before audiences 

 which annually assemble on the occasion of lectures 

 delivered in his official capacity, and occasional 

 "exhibits" before the Linnean and Zoological Societies, 

 he, with a modesty so marked as to be well-nigh depre- 

 ciative of his talents, has published nothing concerning 

 them ; and the present volume therefore comes rather as 

 a memoir from his hands than as a mere official cata- 

 logue, and it is worth all the scattered papers he could 

 have published in the time. It teems with interest and 

 records of beautiful objects, and is illustrated by fourteen 

 magnificent plates, mostly in colour, done from his own 

 drawings by the facile hand of Green, than whom no 

 better English lithographer in zoology exists. Of these 

 plates no praise can be too high, and we expect for them 

 an unprecedented popularity in the future. They must 

 be seen to be appreciated, and, with the exquisite pre- 

 parations they illustrate, constitute a possession of which 

 even the Royal College of Surgeons may well be 

 proud. Each of the entries in the catalogue bears a 

 registration number, and where desirable a short biblio- 

 graphic reference, as an aid to the student. 



The success of this volume augurs well for the 

 future of the museum and its collections, and knowing 

 the unparalleled excellence of the numerous additions 

 which during the last decade have been made to the 

 series of which it treats, thanks to the curatorial genius 

 of Prof. Stewart and the unrivalled skill of his lieutenant, 

 Mr. R. H. Burne, we can safely predict even a better 

 result for the volumes yet to come. The collection of 

 zootomical preparations arising under their hands is far 



S 



