J. W. Gregory — Visit to Continental Museums. 443 



Hanover : of Becks from the Westphalian Kreide : of Zeigler from 

 the Gault of Ahaus : of Speyer from the Hessian Tertiary : of 

 Kiisel from the Bukower Tertiary : of Meyn, Kloeden and Gum- 

 precht from the North German " Flachlande " : of Kovalevski from 

 the Samlaud Bernstein; and finally Beinert's Carboniferous plants. 



Dresden. 



In one corner of the Z winger, in the picturesque old town of 

 Dresden is the Mineralogical and Palgeontological collection presided 

 over by Prof. Dr. Geheimrath H. B. Geinitz and Dr. J. V. Deich- 

 miiller. The collections (open from 9 till 1) contain most of the types 

 figured in the various monographs of the " Mittheilungen aus dem 

 K. Mineralogischen Museum in Dresden," such as Prof. Geinitz's 

 from the Saxon Dyas, or Dr. Deichmiiller's insects from the Solen- 

 hof'en stone. It also contains a choice series of fossils from the 

 Cretaceous rocks of Saxony. Among the Echinoderms of this col- 

 lection the gems are certainly the fine set of Asteroidea, the genera 

 of which, however, require re-examination in the light of Mr. Sladen's 

 recent Challenger Report ; at present they are all included as Stell- 

 aster; but one at least ($. albensis, Gein.) must be included with 

 Nymphaster. 



At Dresden the geologist need not regret as much as at many 

 towns the shortness of the hours during which the Museum is open. 

 Though the palaeontologist may feel little interest in the art treasures 

 of the Z winger, the geologist can profitably spend a few hours in the 

 study of the landscapes of pre-Whistlerian 17th century impression- 

 ists ; the unrivalled series of Kuysdael's and several of the rather rare 

 works of his master Albert van Everdingen may be profitably com- 

 pared with such masterpieces of 19th century realism as Papperitz's 

 gneissose mountains (No. 22 10) or Eug. Diincker's boulder bestrewn 

 beach, or the roches moutonnees in Hemming von Kameke's Alpine 

 landscape. 



Prag. 



The scenery of Saxon Switzerland, with the deep valley of 

 the Elbe bounded by flat topped hills often crowned with some 

 picturesque old castle, forms a pleasant contrast to the sandy tracts 

 of the North German plain. The geologist certainly should do this 

 section of the journey by daylight ; he can join with those whom 

 a philanthropic age has sent to tenant the castles that surmount these 

 historic hills in a philosophic contemplation of the precipitousness 

 which cliffs of ordinary soft " kreide " can maintain when protected 

 by a basalt cap. 



At Prag the Museum is still in the old building in the Graben 

 and the palgeontological collection is displayed in a summer house 

 in the garden. It will however be shortly removed to the colossal 

 Bohemian National Museum now rapidly approaching completion 

 at the end of the Wenzelplatz. 



The principles upon which the new museum is to be arranged 

 and the methods by which these are to be carried into effect are fully 

 described in Dr. A. Fric's paper '•' Principien der Organisation der 

 naturhistorischen Abtheiluni>; des neuen Museums zu Prag." 



