v EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF COLLECTING 67 



himself the task of collecting and preserving all the fossils or 

 all the land and freshwater shells, or all the birds' eggs, or all 

 the beetles, to be found within a radius, say, of ten miles round 

 his dwelling-place, what a fund of knowledge he would acquire 

 not only of the appearance of the individual specimens, but of 

 their natural surroundings and habits ! And what delightful 

 rambles he would have in the open air, with eyes and ears 

 intently appreciative of all the varied beauties of the lovely 

 world in which we dwell, lost, unfortunately, to so many who 

 pass through it with none of these interests and pleasures ! 



Although a collection, with a definite object, of specimens 

 obtained, prepared, and arranged by one's self is the ideal of 

 a boy's museum, I do not say that the possession of a few 

 miscellaneous articles, which are sure to be given by kind 

 friends as soon as the taste for possessing them is recognised, 

 may not sometimes be an advantage, especially as a help in 

 stimulating inquiry and knowledge. My first " museum " was, 

 as I recollect, very much of this nature. It was contained in 

 a large, flat, shallow box with a lid, and I made cardboard 

 trays which filled and fitted the bottom of the box, and kept 

 the various specimens separate. Everything was carefully 

 labelled, and there was also a manuscript catalogue in a copy- 

 book. No boy should ever be allowed to keep any sort of 

 museum without a catalogue in which the history of every 

 specimen and the date at which it came into his possession 

 are carefully entered. When the box was outgrown it was 

 superseded by a small cabinet with drawers, then by a cup- 

 board ; but before I had left the parental home for college, an 

 entire small room was dignified by the name of my " museum." 

 It was the love of curatorship which thus grew up within me, 

 without the remotest external influence or inherited predis- 

 position towards it, as none of my relatives had any interest 

 in such pursuits, that determined my after career, and led to 

 such success as I have met with in it. My boyish fondness 

 for dissecting animals and preparing their skeletons at that 

 time could find no nearer outlet in any academic career than 

 in the pursuits of a medical student ; and the anatomical 

 museum of my college was at first to me a much greater 

 subject of interest than the wards of the hospital so much so 



