BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 345 



COLOMBIA 



BOGOTA: 



MUSEO NACIONAL. 



Staff. Director, Rafael Espinosa Escallon; 1 assistant and 1 

 janitor. 



Anthropology. Collections illustrating the life and customs of 

 the indigenous races. 



Art. Oil paintings and portraits, textiles, ceramics, etc. 



Botany. The Triana herbarium of 3950 species of native plants 

 acquired in 1856; the Gamba collection of 195 species formed in 1878; 

 a collection of 277 species of ferns; the Samper collection of 30 species 

 of Swiss flowering plants; the Thomson collection of 50 herbarium 

 sheets of the orchids of Colombia. There are also collections of 

 economic plants and plant products. 



Geology. The Moore collection of about 200 minerals received 

 in 1886; an economic collection of 100 minerals from France; a collec- 

 tion of 100 minerals and rocks chiefly from France; the Samper col- 

 lection of local minerals and the Gledhill collection of minerals received 

 in 1886; a collection of minerals and rocks of the Panama Canal ob- 

 tained in 1885; the Gamba collection of 196 minerals and 10 fossils 

 received in 1878; and a collection of chlorides of sodium from the prin- 

 cipal salt localities of Colombia. 



History. Extensive collections illustrating local history. 



Numismatics. Large collections of general and local coins, medals, 

 etc. 



Paleontology. Common genera of fossil shells, etc., of Colom- 

 bia and a collection of mastodon fragments from local sites. 



Zoology. Synoptic collections of vertebrates and invertebrates. 



Historical Sketch. The national museum of Bogota had its 

 beginning in the early part of the 19th century under the direction of 

 Dr. Jose Celestino Mutis who had associated with him a body of 

 young men of high standing in science and art. His death in 1808 

 and the vicissitudes of the war of independence resulted in the cessa- 

 tion of activity in the museum and the manuscripts, herbaria, pictures, 

 and other objects were sent to Madrid where many of them are still 

 preserved. With the establishment of the republic in 1823 the new 

 national museum was founded as a center of instruction in the 

 arts and sciences. In 1824 the museum of natural history which had 

 been previously organized was merged in the new museum. Later 

 an archive of historical documents was added. Since that time the 



