i6 
THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
kangaroo of Australia, lioness and 
young and the pigmy deer of Asia. 
On the second floor will be found the 
ornithological collection. Here are all 
the native birds beautifully mounted 
and classified so that anybody may eas- 
ily identify any bird that he has seen. 
There are also four large groups illus- 
trating the seasons in bird life — spring 
in the woods, spring and summer on 
the shore, fall, and winter. These are 
finely executed habitat groups with the 
foliage and vegetation done in wax. 
They take up an entire room. 
A new exhibit of great interest on 
this floor and one of the finest in the 
museum is the Paul G. Howes collec- 
tion of local, northern, western and 
South American birds’ nests and eggs 
collected personally in various parts of 
the world, and now publicly displayed 
for the first time in a specially designed 
case of plate glass. This collection 
shows typical forms of all the most 
beautiful and intricate nests and is a 
revelation to any one who sees the 
beauty in nature’s work. The eggs of 
some of the South American birds are 
like gems in their lovely colorings. Fif- 
teen nests with tiny eggs of humming 
birds from Venezuela are displayed, 
and also the first nest ever found of a 
ground thrush, collected by Mr. Howes 
in the Colombian Andes at an altitude 
of over nine thou c and feet in the heavy 
forests of that region. 
Other recent additions of immense 
interest are the specimens lent by Mr. 
A. W. Bahr, recently returned from 
China, and consisting of the eggs of 
immense birds, one of them from a long 
extinct species. This specimen is twice 
as large as the egg of an ostrich. 
On the third floor will be found the 
local and foreign entomological collec- 
tion consisting of twenty-five cases of 
labelled and perfect specimens, charts, 
photographs, models, etc. There are 
four rooms on this floor devoted re- 
spectively to minerals and gems and 
precious ores, paleontology (fossils), 
Indian relics and historical objects. 
The geological and mineralogical 
collections are very fine. Many gems 
and beautiful mineral specimens from 
all over the world are exhibited, to- 
gether with interesting photographs, 
models of topography and explanatory 
matter. A large series of fossils illus- 
trates the past history of life on the 
earth, and models show such interest- 
ing things as the evolution of the horse 
from its tiny ancestor and extinct rep- 
tiles of the Connecticut valley. 
Another new exhibit on this floor, 
just started, is the series of models in 
natural colors of the common fungi of 
Connecticut. 
The collection of Indian relics and 
culture, mostly supplied by Mr. George 
P. Rowell of Stamford, is one of the 
finest in the building, consisting of 
many thousand chipped flints, arrow 
points, paintings, celts, agricultural im- 
plements and specimens of beadwork. 
This collection is not as yet in its final 
arrangement. 
The historical collection is also very 
fine and illustrates the culture of our 
colonial days. A short inspection of 
this collection gives one a clear insight 
into the homes and lives of our fore- 
fathers. 
All the magnificent material that con- 
stitutes the collections of the Bruce 
Museum is displayed in the finest ob- 
tainable museum cases of plate glass 
and steel, which have cost a great out- 
lay, both in labor and money, but the 
results obtained are a compliment to 
those who have faithfully worked to 
make this institution unique among 
museums. 
French Boy Scouts and God in Nature. 
One of our good friends sends a copy 
of “The Catholic Transcript” of Thurs- 
day. April 7, marking an article that 
calls attention to the fact that in France 
the Roman Catholic Boy Scouts are 
taught and urged to recognize God in 
nature, thereby cultivating a love of 
plants and animals. The scoutmaster 
in planting a camp offered a prayer 
from which we quote as follows : 
“Grant that my word may be a light 
to their path, that I may show them 
Thy Divine imprint in the world Thou 
hast created. Teach them Thy holy 
law, and lead them on to Thee, my God, 
into the camp of rest and joy where 
Thou hast set Thy tabernacle and ours 
forever.” 
Dr. Edward F. Bigelow has been re- 
cently elected vice-president of the New 
York Public Lecture Association, of 
which he has been a director for several 
years. He has been a lecturer for the 
New York Board of Education for 
twenty-one years. 
