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SCIENCE. 



[N.S. Vol. XXII. No. 559. 



place where moth and dust do not corrupt and 

 Dermestes do not break in and steal; where 

 the employees spend their time in studies of 

 interest only to themselves. That such is a 

 not uncomiaon opinion is evidenced by the 

 character of many who apply, or are recom- 

 mended, for positions in museums, whose chief 

 qualification seems to be inability to do a 

 good day's work or compete with their fellow 

 men in the daily avocations of life. As a 

 matter of fact, to use Dr. Haddon's expression, 

 the curator who really curates has his hands 

 full to overflowing, and there are always so 

 many things demanding immediate attention 

 that in the matter of reports there is a strong 

 temptation to follow the good old adage and 

 not put off till to-morrow what can con- 

 veniently be put off until the day after. These 

 remarks are called forth by the comparatively 

 recent appearance of the belated reports of 

 several of our museums, that of the U. 8. Na- 

 tional Museum for 1902-03, having appeared 

 in June, as nearly as possible two years be- 

 hind. Nevertheless the report is a good one 

 and indicates the aid extended by this insti- 

 tution to the public in general and investiga- 

 tors in particular, and it is probably fair to 

 say that no other museum in the world is so 

 free with material, publications and informa- 

 tion as this. 



Where so much ground is covered as is done 

 in this report it is practically impossible to 

 touch on details, but one may note the rapid 

 growth of the botanical and entomological col- 

 lections and the gradual rearrangement of 

 the zoological exhibits in the interests of the 

 public, by lessening the number of specimens 

 and adding to their attractive features. Just 

 a word of criticism here : the collection of 

 mammals is stated to be at last ' thoroughly 

 and satisfactorily labeled.' It may be thor- 

 oughly labeled, but in view of what is now 

 demanded of museums it can hardly be said 

 that a set of labels giving only the name and 

 range of the species is satisfactory. The 

 labels on the reptiles and many of the fishes 

 are very much better than those of the mam- 

 mals and birds. 



As an appendix to the report Mr. Rathbvin 

 gives ' An Account of the Buildings occupied 



by the National Collections ' and there is a 

 translation of the memoirs by Dr. A. B. 

 Meyer, of the Royal Museum, Dresden, 

 ' Studies of the Museums and Kindred Institu- 

 tions of New York City, Albany, Buffalo and 

 Chicago, with Notes on Some European In- 

 stitutions.' These are both long and impor- 

 tant articles. The first shows just how the 

 National Museum is housed and gives a brief 

 sketch, with plans of the new building now 

 in process of construction. The accompany- 

 ing illustrations give an extremely good idea 

 of the general appearance of the present build- 

 ing and of its exhibition halls. 



The publication of the translations of Dr. 

 Meyer's memoirs makes generally accessible 

 for the first time the fullest account of our 

 own museums and libraries that has been 

 written, while the notes on European museuras 

 show the most recent work in museum con- 

 struction and installation. 



The Report of the American Museum of 

 Natural History for 1904 appeared in July 

 and is, as usual, a somewhat condensed and 

 formal statement of the operations of the 

 museum, the more striking feature of general 

 interest being skillfully emphasized by the 

 introduction of a number of plates. These 

 include the great bird groups, the skeleton of 

 Brontosaurus, the Peary meteorite (which, like 

 fish, lost so much in weighing), and examples 

 of the beautiful glass models of invertebrates 

 made in the museum laboratories under the 

 supervision of Dr. Dahlgren. With all re- 

 spect to the late Herr Blaschka, these models 

 are superior to the famous Blaschka models. 

 In its lecture courses the American Museum 

 makes a strong appeal to teachers and scholars 

 and the results have been extremely satisfac- 

 tory. 



The Report of the Carnegie Museum cov- 

 ers the year ending March 31, 1905, and this 

 appeared with commendable promptness and 

 shows a remarkable increase in the collections 

 of vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology. 

 At present the growth of the exhibition por- 

 tion of the museum is stopped by the construc- 

 tion of the extensive additions now being 

 made to the building, but the study collections 

 in all departments are increasing rapidly. 



