THE BRITISH MUSEUM 



cilities, which always confronts the architect in found- 

 ing a natural history museum. 



There is, however, one striking novel feature in 

 connection with the structure of the natural history 

 museum at Kensington which must not be overlooked. 

 This is the quite unprecedented use of terra-cotta orna- 

 mentation. Without there is a striking display of half- 

 decorative and half -realistic forms; while within the 

 walls and pillars everywhere are covered with terra- 

 cotta bas-reliefs representing the various forms of life 

 appropriate to the particular department of the mu- 

 seum which they ornament. This very excellent feat- 

 ure might well be copied elsewhere, and doubtless will 

 be from time to time. 



As to the exhibits proper within the museum, it 

 may be stated in a word that they cover the entire 

 range of the faunas and floras of the globe in a va- 

 riety and abundance of specimens that are hardly 

 excelled anywhere, and only duplicated by one or 

 two other collections in Europe and two or three in 

 America. 



It would be but a reiteration of what the catalogues 

 of all large collections exhibit were one to enumerate 

 the various forms here shown, but there are two or 

 three exhibits in this museum which are more novel 

 and which deserve special mention. One of these is to 

 be found in a set of cases in the main central hall. 

 Here are exhibited, in a delightfully popular form, some 

 of the lessons that the evolutionist has taught us dur- 

 ing the last half-century. Appropriately enough, a 

 fine marble statue of Darwin, whose work is the foun- 

 tain-head of all these lessons, is placed on the stairway 



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