liF.rrii.Es .i.\7> AM/'Him.ws 45 



very iis(>ful all>' of man since (licy lixc chiefly on rats, mice and 

 insects injui"ious to ci"o|)s. 



Knterinii; the darkened room near 1)\' we find a <»;i-oui) of unusual 

 Bullfrog int(>rest, sli()\vin«2; the common l)uinV()«;- of" Xoi'th 



Group America. 



This oroup is a study of tlie l)ullfro«2; undisturlx'd in its typical 

 haunt. It ilhist rates the chanji;es from the tadpole to the adult iro^ 

 and shows many of the activities of the frog — its molting, swinuning, 

 breathing under water and in air, croaking, and 'Mying low" before an 

 enemy; also its food habits in relation to small mammals, to })irds, 

 snakes, insects, snails, to small fish and turtles. 



Another group is the Great Salamander or Hellbender, best known in 

 the creeks of western Pennsylvania. The group pictures them at breed- 

 ing time, and shows their characteristic stages and habits: thus one of the 

 salamanders is pictured molting, another, a male, is brooding a great 

 mass of eggs; and the group explains many details of their manner of 

 living. 



To the left as we approach from the elevator are the Natural History 

 Reading Room and the Children's Room. 



In the Natural History Reading Room are placed popular books on 



natural history and especially books descriptive of the col- 



^ ,. lections in the exhibition halls. The visitor is invited to 

 tory Reading 



Roou^ make use of these books. The main library consisting of 



more than 70,000 volumes on natural science, is on the fifth 



floor, open free to the pubhc from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. daily, except Sundays 



and hohdays. 



The Children's Room is designed to arouse interest in natural his- 

 tory and outdoor life. Its low cases contain exhibits for 



P the little folks, based on the maxim that knowledge be- 



gins in wonder, and showing curious fishes, quaint dolls 



from various parts of the world and other objects calculated to attract 



children and lead them to ask why and what for. 



Near the entrance to the Children's Room is a bronze tablet 



Th e T bl t ^^^ memory of Jonathan Thorne, whose bequest 

 provides for lectures and objects for the instruction 



of the bhnd. 



