September 11, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



223 



above or at the right. As a rule, each specimen should 

 teach but one thing, and that thoroughly. The same 

 form may, therefore, properly recur in several parts 

 of the museum, to illustrate different parts or ideas. 

 Quality is more important than quantity, and ar- 

 rangement is usually more needed than acquisition. 

 True economy consists in paying liberally for what is 

 wanted, rather than in taking what is not wanted as 

 a gift. The usefulness of a specimen, and thus its 

 real value, is to be measured, not by its rarity or cost, 

 but by the degree in which it exemplifies important 

 facts or ideas. Many specimens should not only be 

 labelled, but also accompanied by figures and ex- 

 planations. 



In addition to, or more often in place of, the three 

 great series — physiological, taxonomic, and geo- 

 graphical — which are commonly attempted in mu- 

 seums, but which it is rarely possible to complete, 

 specimens representing an equal amount of time or 

 money would have a higher educational value if 

 divided among a considerable number of special se- 

 ries, each illustrating some morphological or teleo- 

 logical principle. 



Some of these series are strictly artificial, yet use- 

 ful; as, e.g., animals exterminated by man; those 

 which supply us with food, medicine, weapons, 

 clothing, or materials for habitation; fabulous, myth- 

 ical, and sacred animals; and those which are men- 

 tioned by Shakespeare, and in the Scriptures. 



Of natural series, the most conspicuous and com- 

 plete should be the vertebrate branch synopsis : this 

 should embrace, within a space easily covered by the 

 eye, one stuffed example or model of a species repre- 

 senting each vertebrate class, together with four 

 preparations exhibiting the vertebrate type of struc- 

 ture; viz., a transection of the whole body; a hemi- 

 section of the whole body; a complete vertebral 

 segment; a hemisected skeleton showing the varia- 

 tion in size of the neural and haemal cavities. So 

 far as possible, these preparations should be made 

 from members of different orders of the class, and be 

 accompanied by outline diagrams and explanations. 



Each class, but first and especially the mammalian, 

 should have its own special synoptic series, embra- 

 cing one or more entire examples of each order, and 

 preparations illustrating the characters of the class. 

 The choice and arrangement of these preparations are 

 complicated by the desirability of indicating that what 

 are commonly enumerated as class characters are of 

 unequal degree: some are constant and peculiar; 

 some constant, but not peculiar; others peculiar, but 

 not constant; and others, again, though usual, are 

 neither peculiar nor constant. The neglect to indi- 

 cate these differences in lectures, text-books, and 

 museums gives rise to inaccuracy or uncertainty in 

 the minds of students. 



Instead of vainly attempting to obtain and exhibit 

 all the species of all the groups, most educational 

 museums would attain more satisfactory results by 

 selecting the more interesting or instructive forms 

 from all classes, and limiting their efforts to com- 

 plete groups for a few, upon which, as well as upon a 

 larger number, may be illustrated the principles of 



classification, and of individual and geographical 

 variation. 



Among special series other than systematic, are 

 analogous forms and structures which are sometimes 

 mistaken for one another, but more readily discrim- 

 inated when brought together. Such series are the 

 rostrated animals, spinous forms, and those which 

 have parachutes. Physiological series would contain 

 the hibernating animals, those which are blind or 

 nearly so, and such as are provided with scent-glands, 

 tusks, and all poisonous vertebrates. 



A local collection should embrace all the animals of 

 the vicinity, and will benefit the student, both as an 

 example for him to follow or improve upon, and 

 as exemplifying the laws of geographical distribution 

 and the influence of environment. The local collec- 

 tion need not contain anatomical preparations, but 

 should exhibit both sexes, and all stages of growth of 

 each species, — its mode of life, friends and foes, — 

 so as to interest also the children, farmers, fishermen, 

 hunters, and other residents of the neighborhood. 



Special attention should be called to existing defi- 

 ciencies, not only in the local collection but in all 

 parts of the museum ; and graduates or other friends 

 of the institution should be reminded of the opportu- 

 nities, often peculiar, which they may have of sup- 

 plying desiderata. 



Although more than a quarter of a century has 

 passed since the modern scientific doctrines respect- 

 ing the methods of creation began to be accepted; 

 although opposition to the general idea of organic 

 evolution is now nearly confined to the stubborn 

 and ill-informed ; and although its substantial truth 

 is tacitly admitted, or openly claimed, in nine out of 

 ten higher educational institutions in this country, — 

 I have yet to learn that any considerable part of a 

 college museum has been specifically devoted to the 

 exhibition of the facts which are described or figured 

 in most zoological manuals, and in many works upon 

 popular science. 



Such a collection should embrace much more than 

 a few ape-skeletons hung beside that of man. To 

 avoid the appearance of dogmatism, let me briefly 

 mention the various series relating to evolution 

 which have been begun at Cornell university: Sim- 

 ple ontogenetic series, exemplifying the extent and 

 rapidity of individual transformation; comparative 

 ontogenetic series, illustrating the resemblance be- 

 tween successive stages of one form and the adult 

 conditions of others; generalized, synthetic, or inter- 

 mediate forms, or ' connecting links ; ' forms supposed 

 to have degenerated ; apparently useless or even hurt- 

 ful organs or conditions; apparently needless rules, 

 with equally unaccountable exceptions thereto; 

 human peculiarities, not only as to the skeleton, but 

 as to the brain, heart and other organs; human re- 

 semblances to mammals in general; features which 

 unite man with the tailless apes, and separate them 

 all from the other mammals ; transitory human or- 

 gans and conditions which resemble the permanent 

 organs and conditions of other mammals, especially 

 apes ; human anomalies resembling the normal struc- 

 tures of apes; anomalies and malformations affecting 



