NOTES. 801 
purposes of purely scientific research. In several instances the sci- 
entific results were sufficiently important and extensive to form 
not only a nucleus but the sole subject-matter of distinct periodical 
works, such as the ‘“‘ Annalen des Wiener Museums,” the ** Museum 
Senckenbergianum,” the ‘“ Abhandlungen des Hamburger Muse- 
s.” The Frankfort Museum became the head-quarters for the 
Zoology of North-eastern Africa; Bremen possesses a unique col- 
lection of African birds, celebrated not only for the great number 
of standard specimens, but also for their beautiful state of preser- 
vation. In the Vienna Museum particular attention was paid to 
European fresh-water fishes ; and travellers like Natterer, Russe- 
ger, Kotschy, enriched it with collections so numerous that the 
Austrian naturalists have been engaged in their examination till 
within a very recent period. The Stuttgart and Darmstadt Muse- 
ums are now celebrated for their valuable collections of South- 
German fossils, worked out by G. von Jager, Kaup, and others. 
In the museums of this class great attention is paid to the 
local flora and fauna, recent and extinct. Thus the Stuttgart 
collection may be mentioned as a model of what a museum ought 
to be; besides a most complete series of the plants and fossils, it 
contains a collection of the animals of Suabia in all stages of 
growth and development and of variation, in a perfect state of 
preservation and particularly attractive from the life-like manner 
+ 
l 
in which the specimens are mounted. — Nature. 
The Middletown Scientific Association, accompanied by the 
members and friends of the Springfield Association made an Ex- 
cursion to Rice’s Cut, Reed’s Gap and Hamilton Mountain, on Sat- 
urday, October 28th. On this excursion, the party numbering 
about one hundred had an opportunity to observe some of the 
most remarkable phenomena connected with the trap rocks of the 
Connecticut Valley, and enjoyed one of the finest views in the vi- 
cinity. 
The Secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, Rev. 
J. A. Swan, died late in October. He was much beloved as a man, 
and his scholarly attainments and zeal for natural history, made 
him an efficient officer. His successor has not yet been appointed. 
It is stated that Prof. Raphael Pumpelly has been appointed 
State Geologist of Missouri. Another report states that Prof. 
Swallow received the appointment. Which is correct? 
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