34 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL 



should have cases about eight or ten feet wide, wholly 

 glazed in front with as few bars as possible. If the floor 

 of the cases were raised two feet above the floor of the 

 room, sheets of glass eight or ten feet high might be fitted 

 edge to edge, the joints being filled with Canada balsam, or 

 some similar material, to render them-dust tight, the 

 openings to the cases being at the back or the two ends. 

 Each case should represent a scene characteristic of the 

 Region represented. In that illustrating the Neotropical 

 Region for instance, one case would represent a Brazilian 

 forest, with, say, a tapir, some agoutis, ant-eaters, and 

 sloths, all in natural attitudes and surroundings. A 

 troop of spider-monkeys ; some macaws, toucans, chat- 

 terers, trogons, and curassows, would be seen perched 

 upon the branches ; an iguana, some ground lizards, and 

 the great harlequin and elephant beetles would also appear 

 in the foreground ; while sitting upon leaves or on the 

 ground, or flying in the air, would be a score or two of the 

 most characteristic butterflies the blue morphos, the 

 lovely catagrammas, the brilliant heliconii and ithomias, 

 &c. There should be no crowding, no attempt to show 

 too many species, but just that amount of characteristic 

 life and that variety of form, structure, and colour, which 

 might, under the most favourable conditions, be witnessed 

 by a concealed observer. 



The other side of the same room might be fitted to show 

 the south temperate plains and the highlands of the 

 Andes ; and here would be seen the llamas and huanacos, 

 the rheas, the condor, the vischaca, the chinchilla, the 

 crested screamer, the puma, armadillos, and many 

 humming-birds; with the characteristic vegetation and 

 insects of the district. 



If the six great regions of the globe were thus illustrated 

 in the best possible manner, in some cases two rooms being 

 devoted to a region, such a museum would be at once so 

 attractive and so instructive, that comparatively little 

 space would be required for a general collection to be 

 exhibited to the public. In fact what is termed a typical 

 collection, illustrating all the more important families, 

 would be quite sufficient. 



