i82 SIR WILLIAM FLOWER chap. 



Claw of the bird Rock, who, as authors report, is 

 able to trusse an Elephant." Among "Whole 

 birds " is the famous Dodo from the Isle of 

 Mauritius ; " it is not able to flie, being so big." 

 "This," said Flower, "is the identical specimen, 

 the head and foot of which have passed through 

 the Ashmolean collection into the University 

 Museum of Oxford." 



The formation of Natural History Museums 

 was a " ruling passion " with several kings and 

 queens of Sweden, which fact, probably quite 

 unknown to most people, was of the greatest aid 

 to Linnaeus in his early studies. 



The proper organisation of Natural History 

 Museums was the main theme of the address, 

 rather than of museums in general. Flower 

 emphasised the need for their division into two 

 departments — one for research, the other for the 

 instruction of the public. 



The first must be as complete as possible, with 

 an immense number of specimens. In the second 

 the numbers of specimens should be strictly limited. 

 "The specimens kept for research, for the advance- 

 ment of knowledge, for careful investigations in 

 structure and development, or for showing the 

 minute distinctions which must be studied in 

 working out problems connected with variations of 

 species according to age, sex, season, or locality, 

 for fixing the limits of geographical distribution, 

 or determining range in geological time, must not 



