]S88.] 527 [Special Meeting. 



The President invited several members to state the reasons 

 which had led them to approve the project. 



Professor W. T. Sedgwick spoke of the educational value of a 

 Natural History Garden in Boston. The theory of the evolution 

 of animals the speaker thought could be illustrated in the proposed 

 garden and aquaria by gradations of animals. He lamented that 

 a child formed an erroneous conception of animals from books and 

 thought the specimens in the proposed garden and aquaria would 

 offer needed corrections. 



Professor H3 r att also emphasized the importance of the proposed 

 garden as a means of popular instruction. 



Mr. T. T. Bouve spoke briefly in favor of the proposed garden. 



Mr. M. D. Ross, chairman of the committee on the proposed 

 garden, warmly supported the plan of a Natural History Garden 

 and was glad the work of the committee was drawing to such a 

 propitious close, to which Professor Hyatt replied that with the 

 large sum of money to raise the work had just begun. 



Mrs. Hopkins spoke of the difficulty in teaching natural history 

 in the public schools from want of just what a natural history gar- 

 den and aquaria would give, viz., living specimens for object teach- 

 ing. 



Mr. C. L. Flint was in favor of the garden and aquaria. He 

 thought there would be no serious difficulty and that the plan 

 would be a success. 



Dr. E. G. Gardiner spoke of the Philadelphia Natural History 

 Garden and showed by tables the expenses, gate receipts and av- 

 erage attendance. 



Miss Isabel F. Johnson believed that a part of the required fund 

 might be raised by penny or small subscriptions from school chil- 

 dren. 



The President spoke of the interesting exhibits of pisciculture 

 which might be made in the proposed aquaria. He said he could 

 not call upon any one in particular in opposition to the plan be- 

 cause he had heard of no one who was opposed. He invited any 

 one to speak who had anything to say in opposition. No one re- 

 sponded directly to the invitation. 



Dr. B. Joy Jeffries confessed that when it was proposed to 

 raise $200,000 by subscription, it almost took his breath away. 

 He approved the enterprise and was sustained in favoring the 



