596 
it todo. The present report consists of xxiv + 
157 pages, a trifle larger than the average of 
the reports, and besides the matter pertaining 
solely to the workings of the Association, com- 
prises the address of the president, Dr. Henry 
Woodward, twelve papers, general notes, mu-_ 
seum reports and a list of museum publications. 
Dr. Woodward’s address is practically a brief 
review of the relations of the British Museum 
to the public and what it has done in the way 
of the arrangement and display of specimens to 
interest and instruct visitors, particular atten- 
tion naturally being given to the display of 
paleontological material. Dr. Woodward has 
come to the same conclusion as that expressed 
by the writer some years ago in SCIENCE, that 
the complete mixture of recent and fossil ani- 
mals in the exhibition series is inadvisable and 
the best results are to be obtained by introduc- 
ing a few carefully selected and typical exam- 
ples of living animals into the series of fossils, 
and rounding out the display of recent animals 
by the introduction into the exhibition series 
of a few fossils. ‘‘ This limited introduction 
of existing forms, aided by diagrams, drawings 
and. separate parts, does not break up the ar- 
rangement of the collection (of fossils) as a 
whole, but vastly enhancesits usefulness to the 
student.”’ 5 
The aims and arrangement of various mu- 
seums are described in more or less detail in 
several papers, including the Hastings Museum, 
Worcester, by W. Edwards; the Horniman 
Museum, London, by Richard Quick, and the 
Norwich Castle Museum, by Henry Woodward. 
W. M. Flinders Petrie discusses the ques- 
tion of a ‘ National Repository for Science and 
Art,’ advocating the acquisition of about a 
square mile of land within an hour of London 
(the scheme naturally applies to all large col- 
lections) on which should be built a series of 
one-storied galleries lighted from above ; these 
galleries to be 54 feet wide and about 400 feet 
apart. The object to be attained by this method 
is to provide ample room, at a moderate cost, 
for the housing of material which would be at 
once preserved and available for study, mu- 
seums in large cities whose cost of maintenance 
is high being largely devoted to exhibition. 
F. A. Bather described a series of ‘ Exhibition 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Vou. XIII. No. 328. 
Labels for Blastoidea,’ specially intended for the 
student who goes to a museum with a definite 
purpose of acquiring information regarding fos- 
sil crinoids. Incidentally we are given a sug- 
gestion for a dichotomous arrangement of a 
museum. The text of the 44 labels is given 
and they practically amount to a condensed 
text-book with the specimens serving as illus- 
trations. No one will deny the value of sucha 
system to the student, but would an entire 
museum thus planned and labeled appeal to the 
general public, for which, after all, the exhibi- 
tion portion of a museum is intended ? 
The ‘ Reproduction of Art Objects’ is treated 
by Robert F. Martin, who notes that Venetian 
glass, old majolica, bookbindings, bronzes and 
even tapestries are now successfully duplicated, 
so that art museums may by the use of these 
reproductions fill gaps in historical series for a 
comparatively small price, where originals would 
either cost large sums, or be quite unobtainable. 
J. W. Carr explained the use of ‘ Photography 
in Museum Work’ for illustrating features which 
could not be adequately represented by speci- 
mens alone. Among such he instanced various 
geological phenomena ; the habits and habitat 
of animals; forest trees and the general facies 
of the landscape caused by differences in the 
flora. 
At the business meeting of the association 
the question of publishing a monthly journal 
devoted to museum matters was the subject of 
a ‘Report from the Council,’ and while the pro- 
ject was not then definitely settled, it has since 
been decided to publish such a periodical. The 
details have not as yet been made public. 
196 Ah, 1by 
THE SCIENTIFIC ALLIANCE OF NEW YORK. 
RENEWED efforts are being made to secure 
an adequate building for the societies compos- 
ing the Scientific Alliance of New York. Mr. 
J. Pierpont Morgan has made a conditional sub- 
scription of $25,000, and several smaller amounts 
have been subscribed. A Committee of Coop- 
eration with the Council of the Alliance has 
been formed consisting of Andrew H. Green, 
Chairman, 214 Broadway, Edward D. Adams, 
Abram 8S. Hewitt, W. E. Dodge, John S. Ken- 
nedy, Andrew Carnegie, F. W. Defoe, J. Hamp- 
