SHELLS 91 



the everyday life of the Modern Chinese and have ;i special value as they 

 were made jusl before the sweeping changes of thelasl few years took place. 

 These abolished many of the customs in which these objects were u ed; for 

 example, the series of weapons ;m<l objects showing the tests to which ;i 

 soldier was submitted on entering the army have been rendered obsolete 

 by the introduction of modern weapons and tactics. Bamboo, porcelain, 

 basketry, inlaid work, cloisonne enamel, agricultural implements, car 

 in wood, ivory and stone, and embroidery are exhibited. 



A special collection of greal value is found in the ancient bronzes shown 

 in the adjoining tower room. 



WEST WING 



Shells 



The collection of shells installed in the West Wing contains altogether 

 about 100,000 specimens representative of nearly 15,000 species. These 

 show extraordinary range of color and ornamentation. The arrangement 

 of the collection is as follows: first, in the south wall cases a series showing 

 briefly the classification of mollusks; second, in the eight table cases at the 

 north and south ends of the hall the collections of land shells; third, in the 

 upright railing cases the bivalves or mollusks which like the common clam 

 have tw r o shells ; fourth, in the sloping cases the univalves, mollusks which 

 have only one valve or shell like the snails; fifth, special exhibits of shells 

 in the north wall cases. Other cases contain exhibits illustrating the ana- 

 tomy and habits of mollusks; colored transparencies show them in their 

 habitats. 



Short descriptive group labels will be found in the cases, and on the 

 walls, picture labels of important families of shells, together with small 

 maps of distribution defining the occurrence of the same throughout the 

 world and a large map showing the regional distribution of marine shells. 



An interesting collection of deformed shells is seen in the north case, 

 and a series illustrating the ornamental uses of shells. Cases of especial 

 beauty in their shell contents are those holding Murex, Fusus, Valuta, 

 Conus, Oliva, Strombus, Cypraea, Nistra. 



[Return to the South Pavilion, containing the apes and monkeys.] 



