20 



NA TURE 



[November 2, 189; 



THE ARBUTHNOT MUSEUM, PETERHEAD. 



'T'HE visitor to Peterhead in past years may have had his or 

 her attention directed to the Arbuthnot Museum, and may 

 have ventured into the hall which then contained the very 

 interesting but well-mixed collection. 



The founder of this museum, Mr. Adam Arbuthnot, was liorn in 

 September 1773. During his years of business as a merchant in 

 Peterhrad, and after he retired, he kept gathering at objects of 

 antiquity and natural history, and amassed an immense and valu- 

 able collectinn, all of which he bequeathed to the town at his death 

 in 1S50. Some years later the museum of antiquities, minerals, 

 &c. collected by the members of the Peterhead Institute, was 

 addod. This last contained a very fine and extensive collection 

 of local shells by the late Mr. Dawson, who was a schoolmaster 

 in Cruden. Since then many smaller but important donations 

 have been made, notably by whaling captains. The Rev. Mr. 

 Vuiil, late Free Church minister of Peterhead, contributed the 

 large majority of the invertebrate fauna. 



It had become apparent that better accommodation was 

 required, and a complete revisal of the whole collection. There 

 is no neces-iiy here of detailing how this was gradually arrived 

 at. With bazaars, and by means of a handsome contribution 

 made by Mr. Carnegie, Peterhead was enabled to adopt the 

 Free Library Act, and on a site obtained, a very handsome and 

 suitable building was erected, with provision for a free library 

 and reading-room, museum, and art gallery. The two rooms 

 devoted to the museum are large and well-lighted, and the 

 collection has been completely rearranged. The whole build- 

 ing was opened on Wednesday, October 11. 



The museum is now in a very different condition. One of the 

 rooms contains the antiquities and ethnographical exhibits, the 

 other the natural history collection. Local and foreign objects 

 have been separated in both rooms as far as was possible. And 

 now the visitor may begin in the antiquities room and see the 

 stone implements, the urns, and the mediaeval finds of a local 

 character, and the curiosities from different parts of the world, 

 all placed in a rational order. The rich collection of domestic 

 and other articles from Greenland are all together at the far end 

 of the room. A very valuable collection of coins is also 

 arranged in excellent order in this room. It may be interesting 

 to note that the British coins are so arranged in movable glass 

 panels that the visitor can see both sides by turning the panels 

 round. The ancient swords, African spears, and the like have 

 been grouped on the walls. Not only is the room in the manner 

 of its arrangement worthy a visit, but many of the objects are 

 of considerable value and interest. 



The same is true of the larger natural history room. There 

 is a very good collection of minerals, polished granites from 

 many localities, local seaweeds, lichens, mosses, and the inverte- 

 brate division of the zoological collection is also rich in many 

 of the orders. These specimens are all arranged in large double- 

 fioor cases, a feature in which is the upright middle case. 

 Spirit and branching specimens are thus shown to an immense 

 advantage from both sides. Lightness of effect is secured by 

 using plate-glass shelves. 



It may be interesting, moreover, to point out that one or two 

 of the Sertularians and a Ray's bream have been obtained, 

 prepared, and presented by Mr. C. VV. Peach. 



The fishes are arramged in a wall case, and surmounted by a 

 group of ihe "saws" of the saw-fish. The amphibia and 

 reptiles are arranged in a corresponding case, which is sur- 

 mounted by turtle shields. The crocodiles, &c., are arranged 

 on the wall near this, above the very handsome case of birds. 

 In this last case, as in the rest of the museum, all the foreign 

 specimens are made to keep company. The mammals are 

 arranged in one of the old cases, and near them all the Green- 

 land specimens are grouped together. Plate-glass shelves have 

 been used throughout. 



Very many valuable objects claim the attention in this section. 

 There is a group, for instance, of deers' horns (mostly red deers') 

 over the door, which have been picked up in the mosses around 

 Peterhead, and which measure more in diameter than the 

 recent ones. Among the fishes are many that could be mentioned 

 as occurring at Peterhead. There are several fnetuses of whales, 

 walruses and seals, including a large one of the Greenland 

 whale. Two very nice cases, exhibiting the characteristics of 

 foxes and badgers, are the work of the Aberdeen naturalist 

 Mr. Sim. A similar case of sea birds was made by a local 

 naturalist, Mr. McBoyle, from whom, too, many of the 



NO. 1253, VOL. 49] 



local birds have been procured. It is to be hoped that some of 

 the groups, such as the Crustacea, will not be lost sight of by the 

 members of the Buchan Field Club, whose interest in the 

 museum should be a direct and helpful one. 



This is not the only collection in Aberdeenshire. It has been 

 my pleasure to meet some enthusiasts who have more or less 

 exhaustive collections of antiquities, insects, birds, &c. ; but 

 it is to be regretted that there is no good public museum iji 

 Aberdeen itself ; its situation is one that would be unequalled 

 almost in interesting such collectors in a very large district. 

 Moreover such a museum, if ever formed, would require to 

 provide for a good technical display illustrating agricultural, 

 fishery, and granitic industry. Alexander Meek. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF 

 TECHNOLOG V. 



'T'HIRTY years ago Dr. William Barton Rogers, the then 

 Director of the Geological Survey of Virginia, and a Pro- 

 fessor in the University of that State, founded the Massachusetts 

 Institute of Technology, Boston. Dr. Rogers has since died, 

 but the Institute has grown, and is now the largest scientific 

 and technical school in the United States, and one of the largest 

 in the world. By the catalogue of 1892-93, the number of 

 students was 1060, and the number of teachers 125. 



An account of the character, equipment, and work of the 

 Institute has recently been published, and from it the following 

 facts have been obtained. The prospectus is illustrated by a 

 number of fine pictures, three of which have been sent to us for 

 publication. 



The Institute is remarkable for the great variety of its courses. 

 In it are taught the sciences and their applications to the arts, 

 the [studies being divided into thirteen four-year courses, as 

 follows : — (l) Civil engineering, including railroad engineering, 

 highway engineering, bridge building, and hydraulic engineer- 

 ing ; (2) mechanical engineering, including steam engineering, 

 mill and locomotive engineering ; (3) mining engineering and 

 metallurgy; (4) architecture; (5) chemistry; (6) electrical 

 engineering; (7) biology; (8) phy>ics ; (9) general studies; 

 (10) chemical engineering; (11) sanitary engineering; {12) 

 geology; (13) naval architecture. Agriculture is not included 

 in this list, on account of its being provided for in a State 

 College at Amberst. 



In the four years required for graduation, it is sought : — 



(i) To make the pupil observant, discriminating, and exact. 



(2) To develop in him a taste for research and experimenta- 

 tion on the one side, and for active exertion on the other. 



(3) To give him the mastery of the fundamental principles of 

 mathematics, chemistry, and physics, which underlie the prac- 

 tice of all the scientific professions. 



(4) To equip him with such an amount of practical and 

 technical knowledge, and to make him so familiar with the 

 special problems of the particular scientific profession at which 

 he individually aims, as to qualify him immediately upon 

 graduation to take a place in the industrial order. 



The chief and dominating feature of the Institute, from the 

 material point of view, consists of its numerous large and well- 

 equipped laboratories. The buildings of the Institute, in addi- 

 tion to drawing, recitation, and lecture rooms and libraries, 

 comprise eight laboratories, or groups of laboratories. The 

 Rogers Laboratory of Physics comprises seventeen separate 

 rooms. It includes a laboratory of general physics devoted to 

 instruction in the principles of physical measurement, a labora- 

 tory of electrical measurements, devoted chiefly to advanced 

 electrical work ; a laboratory of acoustics, one for optical work, 

 and another for photography. In addition to these, there is a 

 dynamo-room and several laboratories of electrical engineering. 



The dynamo-room (Fig. i) is provided with a Westinghouse 

 engine of 75 horse-power, the sole use of which is to furnish the 

 power to drive the plant of dynamos. This plant, besides a 

 number of smaller machines, comprises a 500 light alternating 

 current Thomson-Houston dynamo, with transformers, a 150 

 light Edison dynamo, a 200 light Thomson-Houston direct cur- 

 rent dynamo, a 60 light Weston dynamo, a 3 arc-light Brush 

 dynamo, a United .States 300 ampere low voltage dynamo for 

 electrolytic work, and a Siemens' alternating arc-light dynamo. 

 From time to time other large machines are temporarily placed 

 here for purposes of study by the students. The wires from 



