128 



SCIENCE. 



[YoL. VI., No. 132. 



The main entrance leads into the great cen- 

 tral hall, a hundred and fifty feet long, ninety- 

 seven feet wide, and about sixty feet high, 

 lighted by windows near the roof, and having 

 a gallerj' on the sides at the level of the second 

 story, reached by a grand staircase at the 

 back. The ground-floor of tJiis hall is occupied 

 by the index collection, which is lodged in 

 twelve arched alcoves on the east and west 

 sides. It also gives room to a great sperm- 

 whale skeleton, which is the first specimen one 

 sees upon entering the building. 



Back of the central hall is another some- 

 what smaller, — ninety-seven feet by seventy 

 feet, — which will be devoted to the collection 

 illustrative of the British fauna. 



On the west side of the central hall is the 

 entrance to the bird gallery, which occupies 

 the entire first story of the west wing and ter- 

 minal pavilion. The wing is two hundred and 

 thirty-three feet long and fift}^ feet wide ; the 

 pavilion, sixty feet by fort}' feet. The east 

 wing and pavilion, which are of like proportions, 

 are occupied b}^ the fossil mammalia. Between 

 the 1)ack wall of the wings and the annexes 

 previously mentioned is a long narrow corridor 

 lighted from above. The western corridor is 

 occupied b}" coelenterates and sponges, and 

 the eastern by fossil reptiles. Each of the 

 annexes is occupied by a single group. The 

 most westerly room contains mollusks, after 

 which follow echinoderms, reptiles, crusta- 

 ceans, and fishes. The annexes at the east 

 of the central hall contain fossil fishes and 

 various groups of fossil invertebrates. It 

 will be perceived that the eastern half of the 

 first story is devoted to fossil animals, while 

 the western half is occupied b}' a portion of 

 the collection of recent animals. The second 

 stor}^ of the west wing is given up to mammals, 

 and that of the east wing to minerals. In the 

 third story (which is reached by a bridge) the 

 west hall contains the collection of mammalian 

 osteolog}^, and the east hall the plants. 



The basements are principally devoted to 

 work-rooms and storage-rooms for duplicates 

 and supplies ; but at the extreme western end 

 a cetacean galler}^ has been established, in 

 which the entire collection of whale skeletons 

 has been brought together. 



There is one commodious apartment on the 

 ground-floor which deserves special mention. 

 It is designated as the students' room. Per- 

 sons who have obtained permission to study in 

 the museum can have brought into this room 

 such specimens as they wish to examine. 

 Tables and other conveniences are provided, 

 so that iuvestio^ations can be carried on with 



a very considerable degree of comfort. This 

 system must commend itself to the oflficers of 

 all large public museums, and to the students 

 who resort to them. 



It is manifestly impossible, within the limits 

 of this article, to describe the cases used in the 

 museum, or the modes of arranging specimens. 

 Suffice it to say that the former are elaborate 

 and costly, and appear to have been designed 

 with much care, and that the latter are in most 

 cases not only highly instructive, but artistic. 



The chief excellence of the new structure 

 lies in the series of annexes or galleries lighted 

 from the top, and devoted to single groups of 

 forms. This arrangement is in some sort an 

 extension of the system of alcoves employed 

 in numerous museums, but is greatly superior 

 to the latter, on account of the size of the 

 rooms and their complete isolation. 



It is perhaps ungracious, where so much is 

 admirable, to call attention to features which 

 have the semblance of defects. Nevertheless, 

 the building has been severely criticised by 

 English naturalists, both on account of its 

 architectural elaborateness and the faulty ar- 

 rangement of its parts. The arrangement of 

 the staircases is such as to occasion much un- 

 necessary walkiug ; and there is no way by 

 which to move large specimens from the lower 

 to the upper stories. The light in the alcoves 

 of the central hall, devoted to the index col- 

 lection, is insufficient, while along the entire 

 southern fa9ade it is admitted in such excess 

 as to surel}' prove ruinous to the mounted speci- 

 mens in the cases between the windows. 

 There is no regular provision for a library. 



It should be remembered, however, that no 

 perfect structure was ever erected, and that the 

 defects of this building are lost sight of in its 

 general excellence. Its superiority over the 

 old quarters at Great Russell Street is so great 

 as to make comparison impossible. 



The museum in Cromwell Road has some- 

 what more than a third more available floor- 

 space than our national museum at Washington ; 

 but the capacit}^ of the latter can be greatly 

 increased by the addition of galleries. We 

 are here comparing, however, a part of the 

 British national museum with the whole of our 

 own ; for while the building at South Ken- 

 sington is intended to contain only animals, 

 plants, and minerals, the museum at Wash- 

 ington holds all the collections of the govern- 

 ment illustrative of the three kingdoms of 

 nature, and in addition those representing the 

 histor}^ of the progress of culture and the arts. 



After much agitation, the control of the 

 natural- history collections has passed from the 



