January 23, 1885. 



SCIENCE. 



69 



n 



tals, and the substantial interest inspired by 

 the metals, visitors alwa} T s pause with new 

 gratification before some curious rosetted crys- 

 tals of a form of lime ; and a look of deep 

 wisdom comes into their faces as they read the 

 label. " Ah ! " they exclaim, " I told you so. 

 These are import- 

 ed. I knew there 

 could be nothing 

 so pretty as that 

 on this side. 

 They do these 

 things better in 

 France, you 

 know." And so 

 they pass out, 

 usually quite 

 overlooking the 

 ' educational se- 

 ries,' which has 

 been spread with 

 such pains for 

 their instruction. 

 This educa- 

 tional collection, 

 which seems to 

 be extremely apt 

 and well selected, 

 concentrates in a 



Fig. 2. 



-Wires for mounting mu- 

 seum SPECIMENS. 



a, wire twisted so as to form a shoul- 

 der to prevent the specimen from 

 slipping down ; b, wire with the end 

 hent around a disk of leather to 

 which objects can he glued; c, a 

 similar wire bent to fit inside a spi- 

 ral shell, as in fig. 6; cl, spiral label- 

 holder used as in fig. 3. 



single case a 



practical glossaiy and text-book of mineralogy. 

 To this epitome of the science all the rich and 

 rare examples in the wall-cases are only at- 

 tractive illustrations ; and, the further to help 

 the inquirer understand them, several copies of 

 Dana's ' Mineralogy ' will be found upon little 

 tables near by. Here persons may sit and 

 read, acquire and carry away the information, 

 but not the book, for that is chained to an iron 

 pillar. 



The third floor is that most popular with the 

 public, since it is devoted chiefly to modern 

 animal life. The first thing to strike the eye 

 in the south room is a fine series of compara- 

 tive skeletons of primates, from civilized man 

 down to the humblest of monke} 7 s, all hanging 

 in a beautiful row by hooks screwed into the 

 tops of their heads. The set is usually spoken 

 of as Professor Marsh's sundaj'-school class, 

 but an unprejudiced mind can see that really 

 there is no truth in this irreverent comparison. 

 Beyond them, the whole side of the room is 

 filled with cases containing an orderly succes- 

 sion of skeletons illustrating all the vertebrate 

 orders ; while the centre of the room is occu- 

 pied by the skeletons and stuffed hides of the 

 larger mammals, like the camel, rhinoceros, a 

 ven* dejected polar bear, etc. 



In the same room several cases are filled 

 with stuffed skins of mammals, birds, and rep- 

 tiles. Beside most of the land birds are placed 

 their nests, with the eggs ; or else the eggs are 

 glued upon upright tablets of ground glass, in 

 which position they show to excellent advan- 

 tage. One large case is devoted to a collec- 

 tion of New-England birds alone, excellently 

 mounted upon the branches of a tree. This 

 is the work of Prof. W. D. Whitney, who, 

 before he became prominent as a linguist, was 

 known as a good ornithologist ; as, in fact, he 

 still is. 



Passing to the west room on the same floor, 

 one sees invertebrate preparations most attrac- 

 tively dispkiyed. They are confined almost 

 wholly, however, to the Crustacea, mollusks. 

 radiates, and marine protozoa. Of insects 

 there is a very small showing, — only enough 

 to represent scantily the classification of that 

 immense class. This is partly because it is 

 unwise to display insects freely, since exposure 

 to the light causes their colors to fade, but 

 is due chiefly to lack of material, owing to the 

 fact that no entomologists of note have been 

 especially interested in the progress of this 

 museum. 



NoA.L?:?.... P.M.Y.C. 



V.*<?\r&i<:<>srsi(s_._c> cl .. . /£7/. 



US. F. COM , D ^>. A.E.VEBFJLL . 



Ilgeiiii iiliilillill!;!!;!!!!!^!^ 



Fig. 3. — Star-fish mounted on wire fastened in a block 

 of wood, with holder and label of the usual pattern. 



On the other hand, the special tastes of 

 Professors Verrill, S. I. Smith, J. H. Emerton, 

 and others, and the intimate relations the mu- 

 seum (through these gentlemen) has sustained 

 with the Smithsonian institution and the U. S. 

 fish-commission, have brought the department 



