332 
MUSEUMS. 
satisfied with the outline which I have just given 
him. I have no doubt but that his own abilities 
and industry will eventually crown his efforts with 
success. 
Upon this new principle I have prepared the 
large ant-bear, a land tortoise, an armadillo, a dog's 
head (now in the possession of the Duke of North- 
umberland), a hedgehog, a polecat, and the non- 
descript. 
These specimens will be amply sufficient to prove 
that animals with a rough coat of hair, others with 
a smooth one, others with a shell, others with a 
scaly armour, others with a soft fur, and others, in 
fine, with a skin studded over with spikes, can have 
their form and features restored ; and that the skin, 
prepared after the manner which I have described, 
will always retain its shape and brilliancy, and be 
quite free from the ravages of the moth, or from any 
detriment by being exposed to damp. 
Museums ought to be encouraged by every means 
possible. The buildings themselves are, in general, 
an ornament to the towns in which they have been 
built ; whilst the zoological specimens w hich they 
contain, although prepared upon wrong principles, 
are, nevertheless, of great interest ; since they afford 
to thousands, who have not the means of leaving 
their own country, a frequent opportunity of seeing 
the rare and valuable productions which are found 
in far distant parts of the globe. 
When I visit Leeds, I generally spend an hour in 
Calvert's Museum, where I never fail to be highly 
gratified. Mr. Calvert is a gun-maker of the first 
