Report of a Journey Around the \\ arid. 



251 



195. CORNER OF PACIFIC ISLANDS HALL. 



this. The gem room is another notable collection. Grovips of 

 birds, animals, and even the lowest forms of animal life are ex- 

 hibited most attractively, but the palaeontological collections 

 are perhaps the most advanced in the world, not merely in num- 

 ber, but in the remarkabl}- intelligent exhibition ; the dead bones 

 are again alive ! I have spoken in a former report of this and 

 the labeling and need not repeat here. The series showing the 

 evolution of the horse is but one of the choice things in this won- 

 derful collection. 



Naturally the ethnological collection from the Pacific islands 

 interested us especially, and I confess it is very disappointing. 

 Why do the museum authorities call these islands "The South Sea 

 Islands"? Surely they are aware that the term "South Sea" as 

 applied to the Pacific is no longer used by geographers, and the 

 term "Sandwich Islands" has not been correct for more than three- 



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