t 
218 On the Study of Biology. [April, 
.stuffed, with their long names written out underneath them ; and, 
unless your experience is very different from that of most people, 
the upshot of it all is that you leave that splendid pile with sore 
feet, a bad headache, and a general idea that the animal kingdom 
is a mighty maze without a plan. Ido not think that a museum 
which brings about this result has done all that may reasonably 
be expected of such an institution. What is needed in a collec- 
tion of natural history is, that it should be made as accessible 
and as useful as possible on the one hand to the general public, 
and on the other to scientific workers. That need is not met by 
constructing a sort of happy hunting ground of miles of glass 
cases, and, under the pretense of exhibiting everything, putting 
the maximum amount of obstacles in the way of those who wish 
properly to see anything. ; 
What the public want is easy and unhindered access to such a 
collection as they can understand and appreciate; and what the 
men of science want is similar access to the materials of science. 
To this end the vast mass of objects of natural history should be 
divided into two parts, — one open tothe public, the other to 
men of science, every day, and all day long. The former divis- 
ion should exemplify all the more important and interesting 
forms of life. Explanatory tablets should be attached to them, 
and catalogues, containing clearly written expositions of the gen- 
eral significance of the objects exhibited, should be provided. 
The latter division should contain, packed into a comparatively 
small space, the objects of purely scientific interest. For exam- 
ple, we will say I am an ornithologist. I go to see a collection 
of birds. It is a positive nuisance to have them stuffed. It is not 
only sheer waste, but I have to reckon with the ideas of the bird 
stuffer, while if I have the skin and nobody has interfered with 
it, I can form my own judgment as to what the bird was like. 
For ornithological purposes, what is needed ‘is not glass cases full 
of stuffed birds on perches, but convenient drawers, into each of 
which a great quantity of skins will go. They occupy no great 
space, and do not require any expenditure beyond their original 
cost. But, for the purpose of the public, who want to learn, m- 
deed, but do not seek for minute and technical knowledge, the 
case is different. What one of the general public, walking into 
a collection of birds, desires to see, is not all the birds that can 
be got together; he does not want to compare a hundred species 
of the sparrow tribe side by side ; but he wishes to know what a 
bird is, and what are the great modifications of bird structure, 
