FIFTY YEARS OF MUSEUM WORK 17 



States made in connection with the Tenth Census, probably the fullest 

 and most valuable record of the history and condition of our fisherie 

 ever made— or that ever will be made. 



Also he was most excellent at organization and his plan for the 

 organization and administration of the U. S. National Museum may well 

 be studied by museum administrators. 



Not unnaturally some defects appeared when theories were put 

 into practice, and some modifications of rules became necessary when 

 they were applied to varying conditions, but the underlying principles 

 were sound. 1 r F 



At first Doctor Goode objected to placing casters on floor cases, on 

 the ground that it implied their arrangement was not permanent Later 

 Doctor Goode wished that everything was on casters, for if there is any 

 place to which the dictum, "There is nothing fixed that shall not be 

 moved," applies, that place is a museum. 



Doctor Goode believed in "doing things" or in having them done 

 and m some cases his method of going directly to the man who was 

 actually engaged upon a given piece of work instead of through his imme- 

 diate superior would pain sticklers for routine. It was the end rather 

 than the means he had in mind and his method generally resulted in 

 getting the work accomplished. 



An example of this was the Synoptic Series of Invertebrates shown 

 at Chicago in 1893. This was not placed in any particular department 

 and was installed by me, not because I had any knowledge of inverte- 

 brates, but because Doctor Goode thought that I could carry out his 

 desires for such an exhibit; so instructions to do so were given directly 

 to me and not to my superior officer. 



To Doctor Goode is due, or largely due, the use of descriptive labels 

 in natural history museums, including the employment of varying 

 sizes of types according to the importance of the subject matter, the use 

 of casts of fishes, batrachians, and reptiles, and the introduction of 

 ethnological groups and groups of large mammals. 



It may be said that some of these things were not new but their 

 introduction in a great public museum was: a movement is often lost 

 for want of a leader and it was Doctor Goode who was largely instru- 

 mental in overcoming the spirit of conservatism that opposed the adop- 



X F or example, it seems difficult to improve on the system of registration and cataloging in use at 

 jne I. . S. National Museum and this il always pointed out as a model to be followed for this most essen- 

 "ai and important branch of museum work. 



"j the other hand, hard and fast rules for the sizes of labels « 

 evident that they could not be followed, that some labels were T " 

 »o that objecta side by side even, required different treatment. 



