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MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



and Art Museum. The cooperation of three such institutions makes 

 for results impossible under separate management. It is especially 

 desirable that there should be an increase in the use of the collections 

 by school teachers and school children. 



New Features of the Collections. 



Another method of enlisting interest among visitors is the use of 

 descriptive labels and monographs as guides to study. Progress has 

 been made in this respect during the past year, and now many of the 

 important objects are thus indicated. Illustrations of this feature 

 may be seen in the printed descriptions of the petrified wood from 

 Arizona; the column from the Giants' Causeway; the sandstone slab 

 with fossil footprints; the relief maps of Vesuvius, Mont Blanc, and 

 Mont Pelee; the series of corn products, and the realistic bird and 

 animal groups. Much use is also made of photographs to show 

 the actual appearance of objects in nature and the surroundings in 

 which they occur. This device has been found to he especially help- 

 ful and suggestive in lending additional interest to the specimens of 

 fruit and woods from tropical and sub-tropical countries. The 

 Nathan D. Bill collection of Indian Baskets is now labeled in a 

 thorough and unusually satisfactory manner so that this fascinating 

 industry may be readily understood in its detail of process and re- 

 sults. 



The Use of the Bulletin. 



An instance of the value of the close relation between library 

 and museum is found in the museum notes printed monthly in the 

 Bulletin. Important additions to the collections are thus called to 

 popular attention. During the year a series of articles descriptive of 

 notable trees found in the city has been published in the Bulletin. The 

 account describes the situation, appearance and size of the local tree 

 and the geographical distribution of the species. References are 

 given to Sargent's **Silva of North America," in the Catharine L. 

 Howard Library. So much interest has been shown in these descrip- 

 tions that they will be continued to include a large number of species. 

 It is hoped also to combine the articles in a booklet that will make a 

 valuable guide to Springfield's notable trees. 



