THE KING OF MUSEUM-BUILOms. 
0nou^ OP BuffB" ALOES From the ward Establishment, 
crates from all parts of the world, usually filled 
with raw material — sometimes very raw, and 
smelling most abominably I To offset this, 
there is a constant outgoing of specimens of all 
sortf!, all beautifully prepared and ship -shape, 
mounted on polished pedestals for display, 
fully and correctly labeled, each one fitted to 
perform its part in lessening the total sum of 
human ignorance. 
In all this there is nothing that even suggests 
the curiosity shop or the dime museum. On 
double headed calves, monstrosities in general, 
and relics of all sorts, the law of the establish- 
ment has laid the grand taboo. There is 
enough to handle that is purely scientific and 
educational. The establishment consists of 
twelve separate and distinct scientific depart- 
ments, housed in sixteen buildings, several of 
which are quite large. The working force 
usually conaists of about twenty-five persons, 
the great majority of whom are trained ex- 
perts. It requires nineteen printed catalogues, 
r^ome of them half as large as this magazine, to 
adequately pet forth to scientific students, edu- 
cators and institutions the magnificent array 
of objects that are offered them for sale. 
What are the departments ? We cannot atop 
to name all. but the moat important nuist be 
noticed. In the department of zoology there 
are several buildings full to overflowing with 
strange beasts and bii'ds, and creeping and 
iiwiinraing things from every olime and coun- 
try on the globe. No living ci'eafure toi.^ 
^mall to be cangbt in the meshes of the ^jroat 
univer'ial drag-net of \\'ard'9 Natural Science 
Establishment, and neither the elephant nor 
the whale is strong enough to break through. 
*' If you cannot kill elephants with any of the 
ordnance you have with you," wrote Professor 
Ward to me when I was hunting elephants foi 
him in Southern India, "then get a howitzer. 
Anything to bring them down !" 
One building you will find devoted to skele- 
tons, and the osteologists who clean and mount 
them so beautifully. Another building is filled 
with the skins of animals, carefully arranged, 
and well poisoned against the festive moth and 
bacon beetle. The ground floor of the large 
museum," where Jumbo was mounted, is oc- 
cupied by a corps of taxidermists, toiling and 
moiling to make hard and shapeless skins take 
on once more the form, the j)0se, and the ex- 
pression of life. They are mostly patient men, 
but when some fool collector has served one of 
them a particularly ill turn, take heed what 
ye hear, and tell it not in Gath. In the mu- 
seum, which is merely a store- house for choice 
fioished specimens, there is one y:reat room 
filled with skeletons of a thousand kinds, and 
another devoted to stuffed animals. In two 
other large buildings is a superb collection of 
wonders from the sea — beautiful shells, corals, 
.star lights and the like, while still auother large 
Imii ia entirely filled with Professor Ward's 
wonderful collection of sponges. The latter is 
one of his pet collections, and is undoubtedly 
the ftueet iu the world. It containsabout 2,000 
fipecimene, and ia worth 110.000. There is no 
tjjme to mention the shell house," crammed 
full of shells, and also containing the collec- 
