PLAN FOR AN EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT OF FISHES. 1319 



effect without a central point of interest. A fish or school of fish swimming 



among seaweed and rocks is not sufficient excuse for the time and expense 



incurred in producing a fish group. There must be a central idea or theme, such 



as the life history of some interesting species, an instance of peculiar breeding 



habits, or an illustration of some biological phenomenon, like adaptation, 



protective coloration, symbiosis, or sexual dimorphism, which can be emphasized 



in a descriptive label for the benefit of the visitor. Instead of being merely a 



spectacle, the group now has educational value; while it is the pictorial effect 



which at first arrests the attention of the observer, the lesson it has to teach is 



impressed on the mind more vividly than by any other method. (See appendix, 



p. 1340, for specific suggestions for these groups.) 



The nature of a fish exhibit is such that no one kind of material should be 



used to the exclusion of the rest. To show to the best advantage it should be 



so arranged that casts are interspersed with mounted skins, skeletons, and 



colored plates, while the monotony of single specimens is broken by groups at 



judicious intervals. 



METHODS OF ARRANGEMENT. 



In general, the synoptic or systematic arrangement is the best to follow. 

 This is most readily effected by using single specimens in the bulk of the exhibit, 

 which should, however, be varied with groups and accessory exhibits of a 

 faunistic, commercial, and biological character. The synoptic series has great 

 teaching value for the student of elementary zoology, since the orderly grouping 

 of fishes carries with it an orderly grouping of facts readily retained by the mind. 

 It is true that many casual visitors may not appreciate the advantages of the 

 system, but when well arranged it sets forth, rather than obscures, the attractive 

 and striking forms. For the benefit of such visitors the individual labels are 

 made clear, simple, and interesting, while those placed with the groups are 

 particularly adapted to their requirements. The student, however, needs a 

 classification that is more in line with his studies, and this is furnished by the 

 synoptic method of arrangement. 



The classification to be followed will vary of course according to individual 

 judgment. The writer has found that a combination of the American system 

 of Jordan and Evermann with the English system of Boulenger is best adapted 

 for purposes of exhibition. Valuable help in this connection has been derived 

 from W. K. Gregory's article on "The Orders of Teleostomous Fishes."" The 

 scheme of classification will be given later in connection with the provisional 

 list of fishes already referred to. 



Three methods of arranging the exhibit in the hall are offered in the present 

 paper, as follows: (i) the corridor arrangement; (2) the alcove arrangement; 

 (3) the gallery arrangement. 



a Annals New York Academy of Sciences, vol. xvii, part 11, no. 3, p. 437-508, pi. xxix-xxx. 



