548 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 43. 



the structure of a considerable number of the 

 most interesting types of the animal king- 

 dom. Marine Invertebrates, in part, a continu- 

 ation of the Department of Comparative 

 Anatomy. Mollusks, arranged by Mr. C. 

 T. Simpson. Insects, selected from the rich 

 entomological collections of the Museum by 

 the late Prof. C. V. Eiley. Paleontology, in- 

 cluding 116 species of North American fos- 

 sils. Geology, exhibiting the occurrence of 

 gold and silver in nature. Minerals, repre- 

 senting chemical and physical relations. 

 Botany and Materia Mediea. Prehistoric An- 

 throjwlogy and an alcove exhibiting the origin 

 and significance of games. Arts and Industries 

 and Technology, with special reference to in- 

 dustrial development. Ethnology offers 

 exhibits of special interest, in part from the 

 Bureau of American Ethnology prepared 

 under the direction of Dr. W J McGee, 

 and in part from the Department of Eth- 

 nology selected by Prof. 0. T. Mason. 



An account of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, its origin, history, objects and achieve- 

 ments, has been prepared by Dr. G. Brown 

 Goode, intended to accompany the collec- 

 tive exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution 

 and its dependencies at Atlanta. This 

 should be read not only by visitors to the 

 Exposition, but also by all who are interested 

 in the Smithsonian Institution and the ad- 

 vancement of science in America. Dr. 

 Goode concludes the article with the follow- 

 ing paragraphs: 



' At the time of the Smithson bequest the 

 endowment of research had scarcely been 

 attempted in America. There were schools 

 and colleges in which science was taught, 

 and certain of the teachers employed in 

 these institutions were engaged in original 

 investigation. There were a few young 

 and struggling scientific societies, very lim- 

 ited in extent and influence, but at that 

 time the chief outcome of American scien- 

 tific work. Science in America was an in- 



fant in swaddling clothes. Fifty years have 

 passed and American science now stands 

 by the side of the science of Great Britain, 

 of Germany, of France, a fellow worker, 

 competing on an equal footing in nearly 

 every field of research. 



The Smithsonian Institution did what 

 was, at the time of its organization, abso- 

 lutely indispensable to the rapid and sym- 

 metrical development of American scientific 

 institutions, and but for it science in Amer- 

 ica would no doubt have advanced with 

 much less rapidity. It is also certain that 

 the progress of American science has had 

 an immense influence upon the welfare of 

 America in every dep)artment of intellectual 

 and industrial activity and a reflex action 

 upon the scientific and industrial progress 

 of the entire world. 



In 1896 the Smithsonian Institution will 

 celebrate the end of its first half century. 

 A special A'olume will be published to com- 

 memoi-ate the event, and two memorial 

 tablets will be erected in honor of the 

 founder in the city of Genoa, where he 

 died, June 26, 1829; one in the English 

 church, and one upon his tomb in the beau- 

 tiful little English cemetery on the heights 

 of San Benigno. 



It is interesting to remember that in 

 September, 1896, will occur not only the 

 semi-centenary anniversarj^ of the birth of 

 the Institution founded in the Citj' of Wash- 

 ington by Smithson, but also the centenary 

 of the delivery of that immortal address in 

 which Washington so forcibly recommended 

 to his countrymen to promote as an object 

 of the highest importance institutions for 

 the increase and diffusion of knowledge. 



GENERAL. 



Readers of Science will remember criti- 

 cisms made in the journal (June 21, 1895, 

 p. 682) regarding the illustrations in The 

 Standard Natural History. The full bench 

 of the Supreme Court of the State of Massa- 



I 



