1884] A walk through the Nat. History Museum at Florence. 487 
ever attests the acceptance of the theory that the earth is a globe, 
and that men can stand at the antipodes, though we find no 
Scripture authority for this belief, once esteemed the uwxpardon- 
able sin, 
A weather-stained bust of Galileo, green with abundant alge, 
stands upon a pedestal at the rear of a court open to the sky, but 
in the halls above he is honorably enshrined. 
Broad easy steps invite us to ascend—but stay! We cannot 
pass that colossal marble statue whose face bears the impress of 
questioning thought. We need no name beneath to tell us its 
significance, the siphon barometer in his hand and his earnest 
introversion assures us that it is Toricelli reflecting upon the vac- 
uum that bears his worthy name. 
Ascend—if you are a naturalist, or love the book of nature and 
would read her story—you need no further invitation. At the 
head of the first flight, doors open into the hall of the botanical 
museum, lecture-room and herbaria, which lie in succession be- 
yond, On the left of the outer door stands a marble bust of 
Amerigo Vespucci, the appropriateness of whose position we did 
fot discover, In the first hall large glazed cases line the walls, 
in which are displayed magnificent specimens of fossil palms, cal- 
amites, &c. Among these may be named Phænicitis vettinoides 
A the Tertiary of Vegroni, three feet long ; Flabellaria major 
m the Miocene of the same locality ; Latanites gigantea, Sas- 
safras Ferretianium from Sinigalia; Laurus oreodaphnifolia, all 
from the Miocene of Italy ; Ficus tetrafolia from CEningen, Swit- 
rig A photograph of the fossil Pinites protolarix, thirty-six 
‘n circumference, and now in the botanical garden at Breslau, 
88 Upon the wall. 
Beyond the room we found a collection of natural vegetable 
oo illustrations of strange tropical and other plants of 
rently is ‘nary character, exceedingly interesting and appa- 
readily ac gs complete as that at Kew. . Here were exhibited, 
cessible, giant specimens of Dicksonia antarctica, split 
to show the peculiar growth of this New Zealand tree-fern; 
Raphig o errhea arborea, or grass-tree, of Queensland, Australia ; 
° thea fea from Madagascar, exhibiting remarkable clusters of 
brown, smooth cones from above large scales, leaf-like 
thee 
high ang Pe Amorphophallus titanicum from Sumatra, two feet 
“ight inches in diameter, resembling a giant cluster of 
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