8 
at once apparent that it is a mere waste of time and money for 
us to continue accumulations of collections which will most 
certainly be duplicated at Washington or New York; and that, 
beyond a very limited appeal to the public in the collections 
placed on exhibition, we should expend our resources only in 
the direction of fostering such original work as may most effi- 
ciently be conducted by the Professors holding endowed chairs 
in our University. This can be best accomplished by a com- 
paratively small museum staff, provided the assistants necessary 
for laboratory instruction are supplied to the teachers, and they 
find time from their teaching to use the materials of this insti- 
tution as far as it is available. The function of a museum is 
without doubt to use its resources in the purchase and care of 
special collections, made by their owners at the cost of a great 
expenditure of time and money. Some of these collections, 
illustrating the past history of a district, frequently represent 
the work of a whole lifetime devoted by some specialist to a 
limited field, in which his collections have been brought to a 
great state of perfection ; and in such collections the Museum 
is very rich in certain directions. I would name only the Dyer, 
Taylor, Gebhard, Day, and Walcott collections, among the 
American; and the Bronn, Shary, Konick, and Schultz, for the 
other side. The owners of such collections are anxious that 
all their work should not be scattered to the winds, and that 
the materials they have brought together should be kept as 
historical documents. 
‘ In the care of geological and paleontological collections the 
difficulties of preserving them are inconsiderable, the cost is 
not excessive, and there are not many troublesome questions 
likely to arise beyond that of space. When, however, we come 
to zodlogical materials, the difficulties are great. As far as the 
collections placed on exhibition are concerned, their deteriora- 
tion is a mere question of time. The director of any museum 
must constantly replace his Birds and Mammals, renew the 
alcohol of his Fishes, Reptiles, and alcoholic Invertebrates, and 
renew all his Insects after a while. If the number of rooms 
devoted to the public is not too large, the expense seems 
warranted, if we are to judge of the interest taken as shown 
by the constantly increasing number of visitors on week-days 
as well as Sundays. It is when we come to the collections of a 
