November 17, 1904] NATURE 



57 



hornblende, seem to point rather to the formation of 

 a composite roclc along an intrusive junction. 



Messrs. Kynaston and Hall conclude this important 

 report with an account of what they style " diamond- 

 iferous " pipes and alluvial deposits. It is suggested 

 that the diamond-bearing vents were connected with 

 the great uplift that followed the close of the Karroo 

 period in South .Africa. 



Some of Mr. Mellor's results, now detailed in the 

 oflicial memoir, were communicated earlier in 1904 to 

 the Geological Society of South Africa, and have been 

 incorporated in Dr. 'Molengraaff's " Geology of the 

 Transvaal."' This handy work, the publisher of 

 which is not named, now replaces the well known 

 paper in the Bulletin dc 

 France for 190 1. It is 

 accompanied by a 

 coloured sketch map on 

 the scale of i : 500,000. 



Grexville .\. J. Cole. 



la Socicte 



are mounted. He gives as an instance how the train 

 of the peacock, commonly called its " tail," is often 

 placed as if it arose from the hinder end of the body, 

 while in reality when erect it stands in front of the 

 wings, as shown in the accompanying illustration re- 

 produced from Mr. Pycraft's paper. 



" Would it not be well," remarks Dr. Bather very 

 aptly in his excellent presidential address at the Aber- 

 deen conference of the Museums' Association, " for 

 each of us Museum curators occasionally to ask himself 

 the question : What exactly is the object of my 

 Museum? " While laying stress on inspiration as one 

 of the principal functions of a museum, by which Dr. 

 Bather understands the selection and display of 

 material so as to attract members of the general public. 



OUR MUSEUMS.'- 

 'T^HE object of the asso- 

 ^ ciation, of which the 

 manifold spheres of 

 activity are chronicled in 

 the Museums' Journal, is 

 the promotion of the 

 better and more syste- 

 matic working of 

 museums. That museums 

 are destined to play a very 

 important function in the 

 future education of our 

 race every curator is fully 

 convinced. Yet anyone 

 perusing the pages of the 

 Museums' Journal will 

 be struck by the apparent 

 want of unanimity among 

 those into whose charge 

 such institutions have 

 been placed as to the best 

 methods to be adopted 

 in conveying to the public 

 the educational advan- 

 tages offered. .\ learned 

 German museum official 

 thought that if artistic 

 skill were more cultivated 

 I he public would show 

 increased appreciation for 

 museums. He insists 

 that the greater the 

 knowledge of drawing 



in a community, the "°' 



greater the value of a 



museum as an educational institution for a 

 nation. Dr. Hecht, a French museum authority, 

 advocates placing among natural history specimens a 

 number of attractive and pleasing exhibits so as to 

 lead the mind of the visitor to larger ideas, and to 

 show him by well chosen illustrations in how many 

 ways animal life is connected with human civilisation. 

 Another gentleman argues that the doctrine of evolu- 

 tion should be the key-note of museum work, while 

 Mr. Pycraft directs attention to a real defect in many 

 of our museums in the manner in which our animals 



1 "Geologyof the Transvaal." By Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff. Translated 

 by J. H. Ronaldson, M.E. With Additions and Alterations by the Author. 

 Pp. viii + go. (Edinburgh and Johannesburg. 1904.) 



2 ne Afuseiims- Journal. Edited by E. Howarth. Vol. iii. fjuly, 

 igo3, to June, 1904). Pp. x-f436 and 73-142. (London: Dulau and Co., 

 1904.) Price I2J. net. 



Fig. 



; Peacock i 



he does not, however, touch upon the really vital point 

 to the museum curator — how can we best induce the 

 community to enter the doors of our institutions? 



The scope of museums is extended from year to year, 

 and eveVythingr is done to widen the sphere of their 

 usefulness. .\ museum is no longer a place for ex- 

 hibition only, but a place for research and investi- 

 gation, and for the encouragement of those who desire 

 to devote their time to such. Yet no one like the 

 museum curator is more impressed with the fact that, 

 in spite of all his efforts to make his collections appeal 

 to the public, in spite of his heartfelt desire to teach 

 both old and young, he only succeeds in attracting 

 within the walls of the institution a comparatively 

 small percentage of the community. What is really 

 wanted, it seems to us, is that schools and museums 



NO. 1829, VOL. 7 l] 



