204 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 34. 



e. By construction. — Any museum maj^ 

 do much to improve its exhibition series by 

 the construction of models and the making 

 of drawings and maps and by taking cop- 

 ies of important objects in its own collec- 

 tions, to secure material to be used in ex- 

 change. Even small museums may do this, 

 for extensive workshops are not necessary 

 and a specialist, himself devoid of mechan- 

 ical skill, may accomplish marvelous things 

 with the aid of a patient mechanic. 



f. Through deposit and temporary loan. — 

 Possessors of private collections will often 

 lend them for purposes of exhibition or 

 study, if assured that they will be properly 

 cared for. Such loan collections often be- 

 come permanent gifts. Single specimens, 

 or small groups of objects, are still more 

 frequently offered on deposit, and such de- 

 posits, when within the province of the mu- 

 seum, should be encouraged. 



[In the United States National Museum 

 small deposits are received for short peri- 

 ods, but large collections involving trouble 

 and expense in installation, only with the 

 understanding that they shall not be re- 

 moved within a certain period — never less 

 than two years.] 



2. Collections which are encumbered by 

 conditions as to manner of disposition and 

 installation are usually sources of serious 

 embarrassment. It is especially undesir- 

 able to accept either as a gift or as a loan 

 any unimportant collection with the pledge 

 that it shall be kept intact and installed as 

 a unit. The acceptance of any collection, 

 no matter how important, encumbered by 

 conditions, is a serious matter, since no one 

 can foresee how much these conditions may 

 interfere with the future development of 

 the museum. 



3. Gifts, deposits and cooperation of all 

 kinds may be greatly encouraged by liberal 

 acknowledgment upon labels and in public 

 reports. This is but simple justice to the 

 generosity of the benefactor. It is also a 



legitimate way to gratify a natural and 

 and praiseworthj^ sentiment; for a collec- 

 tion to the accumulation of which a man 

 has devoted a lifetime becomes so con- 

 nected with his own personality that it is 

 but natural that he should wish his name 

 to be permanently associated with it. If 

 acknowledgment of this kind is made upon 

 the individual label of each specimen, this 

 will usually fuUj' satisfj' the desire of the 

 donor that the individualitj^ of his gift 

 should be preserved — an arrangement much 

 more satisfactory than a plan requiring 

 that the objects shall be kept together 

 and treated as a unit of installation. 



Gifts and deposits are also encouraged 

 by the fact that the buildings are fire-proof, 

 the cases so built as to afford perfect pro- 

 tection, and the scheme of installation 

 dignified and attractive. Collections of 

 great value may well be afforded accommo- 

 dations of a specially sumptuous character 

 and such protection, in the case of priceless 

 objects, as is afforded by special electric 

 attachments. 



4. Since the plan and character of a mu- 

 seum is largely determined for all time by 

 the nature of the collections which fall 

 first into its possession, at the time of its 

 organization, the authorities in charge of 

 such an institution at the time of organiza- 

 tion should be exceedinglj^ careful in ac- 

 cepting materials which are to serve as a 

 nucleus for its future growth . 



[It is not unusual for boards of trustees, 

 having erected a building, to proceed at 

 once to partially fill it with showy material 

 before the staff has been appointed or a 

 plan considered. This can onlj- be charac- 

 terized as pernicious activity which is cer- 

 tain to result in more harm than good. A 

 plan ha^'ing■ been determined upon and a 

 director selected, the collections may be 

 developed with much less expenditure and 

 with any degree of rapidity which may be 

 desired.] 



