No. 394-] WOTES ON EUROPEAN MUSEUMS. 775 
employed are so generally known that any detailed description 
would be superfluous. The possibilities of a museum as an 
institution seem here to be as fully realized as is possible in 
the present state of museum knowledge. The well-lighted build- 
ing, the extensive collections along all lines of natural history, the 
rich and careful installation, the perfect neatness, the complete 
labels, and the clear and comprehensive handbooks, all com- 
bine to show what a museum can do as a great storehouse of 
instruction. 
Of single features the mount of jeweler’s cotton for mineral 
specimens is worthy of note. It furnishes a neutral back- 
ground and does not show dust. Instead of being described 
as forced into a groove, as Dr. Hovey has it, however, it should 
be said that the cotton is folded around a cardboard which fits 
the tray. This makes in one sense a groove, but is an easier 
mode of manipulation than the other. This mount is not used 
for all specimens where another background would give a bet- 
ter effect. Specimens of fos ferri, for instance, are mounted 
on purple velvet. Single gems are exhibited in shallow cups 
of celluloid. The crystal mounts are ebonized, conical bases 
tapering to a long slender rod, on the end of which the crystal 
is fastened. The rod, it may be said, is too long to suit the 
writer's taste. In labeling the species, if there are a number 
of specimens from different localities, only the locality is given 
on the specimen label; the species’ name is shown on a label 
raised on a brass support and placed in the center of the group. 
The low installation employed for the mineral collection, while 
perhaps giving the best lighting to the specimens, to the writ- 
er's mind, does not make for the hall so attractive an appear- 
ance as could be obtained by the use of cases which would give 
a glimpse of their contents at a distance. The exhibition of 
specimens at the bottom of desk cases, at any rate, seems entirely 
useless. The meteorites are exhibited in pyramidal “ A ” cases 
fitted with a pyramidal series of shelves. The specimens are 
mounted on mahogany bases. The instructive collections 
introductory to the study of rocks, minerals, and meteorites 
deserve the highest praise. Wrought out in exquisite detail, 
the labels couched in clear and simple language, and with 
