10 
WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL 
HISTORY. 
If it is true that a poet is bom and not made, 
quite the reverse is true of a museum, for the 
accumulation of a collection having the slightest 
claim to completeness is the result of long years 
of careful labor coupled with the expenditure 
not of thousands, but of millions of dollars. 
This, coupled with the fact that we do not have 
in this country a large class of wealthy men who 
make a recreation of scientific pursuits is the 
main reason why our museums are so few in 
number and so small in size, for the institutions 
of any magnitude in this country can not only 
be counted on one’s fingers, hut on the fingers of 
one hand. Almost the youngest of our Museums 
is the^American Museum of Natural History, 
located in New York city. This has been in 
existence only about ten years and yet shows by 
its rapid growth the important place it is des- 
tined to fill at no distant day. Indirectly this 
institution owes its existence to a most deplora- 
ble accident, the destruction by fire of the 
cabinets of the New York Lyceum of Natural 
History. Recognizing the importance, not only 
of having a museum, but also of guarding 
against its loss, the leading members of the 
Lyceum proposed in the event of a suitable fire 
proof building being erected, to transfer to it the 
valuable library belonging to the society. Separa- 
tion from other structures being one of the 
greatest safeguards against fire, the co-operation 
of the city authorities was sought with the hope 
of eventually erecting a building in Central 
Park. Pending such construction, the Park 
Commissioners refitted as a museum the old 
Arsenal Building, where Mr. A. H. Green had 
already placed a number of . specimens which 
had from time to time been presented to the city. 
To this nucleus were quickly added the large and 
valuable collections purchased of the estate of 
Prince Maximillian and from Mme. Yerreaux. 
The quarters in the Arsenal Building were not 
only illy adapted for museum purposes, but 
limited in extent, and so rapid was the growth 
of the collection that a new building soon became 
imperatively necessary and the important ques- 
tion arose where to build and what to build. 
The question where to build was answered by 
the selection of Manhattan Square, a vacant tract 
adjoining Central Park, as thereby the greatest 
element of safety— isolation— was readily secured. 
A vast amount of labor has been spent in leveling 
and filling in this space, but now a large portion 
of the museum grounds is graded and planted 
with grass and shrubbery, and another ten years 
will so transform the place that one will hardly 
recognize it as the rocky, shanty-covered waste of 
a few years back. Access to the museum is easy, 
for the street cars pass by it on one side and the 
elevated railroad on the other, while a fine stone 
bridge has recently been finished, spanning the 
ravine which runs by the side of Eighth Avenue, 
and furnishing direct connection with Central 
Park. What to build was the second problem. 
Most European collections are lodged in build- 
ing not specially designed for museum purposes 
and are arranged not as they should be, but as 
the necessities of the case will allow. Hence 
the specimens are crowded together in such ill 
lighted cases that many can scarcely be Seen, 
while all show to a poor advantage. In the 
present case, starting with a tabula rasa the 
Trustees had a splendid opportunity to attempt 
the solution of the question how should a museum 
building be constructed. The desiderata are, 
safety from fire, room for exhibiting specimens 
and light to see them by, with ability to add to the 
exhibition space as the collections grow. All 
these conditions seem to have been met. The 
plans look to the ultimate occupation of the land 
lying between 77th and 81st Sts., 8th and 9th 
Avenues, and although the section already built 
is in itself a large and handsome building, it will 
form but one twelfth of the completed structure. 
The corner stone of this section was laid by Gen. 
Grant, June 2, 1874, and it was formally opened 
to the public by Prest. Llayes, Dec. 22, 1877. The 
entire massive structure is fire proof, even the 
floors being tiled or concreted, and while some 
may find fault with the cost of the edifice, arising 
from its solid construction; yet a moments reflec- 
tion will convince the most economically minded 
that a building which will be a monument for 
all time and is to contain objects that once des- 
troyed can never be replaced, should be both 
ornamental and secure. The lofty halls are amply 
lighted by large windows on both sides, while 
curtains are provided to exclude the sunlight, 
that terrible foe to mounted animals of all des- 
criptions. The cases, like the rooms which con- 
tain them, are commodious and well lighted. 
They are somewhat T shaped in their general 
plan, the upright of the T abutting against the 
wall, and are provided with canvas partitions to 
prevent the confusion w’hich would arise from 
viewing objects on both sides of the case at 
once. The choice of a delicate gray tint for 
these partitions as well as for the whole interior 
of the cases is particularly happy, for not only 
does the form of the animals show admirably 
against this background, but every imaginable 
shade of color. 
Note. We have seen maroon and olive green used 
for backgrounds, but we were not favorably impressed 
by either. These are used in picture galleries because 
they are dull colors and while they do not attract the 
eye, fill up the gap between the pictures harmoniously. 
But every picture has its own background and is shut 
off from aught else by its gilt frame, and it a mis- 
application of principles to make a positive color a 
background for all objects. The general effect is 
sombre while the outlines of many animals are com- 
pletely lost. 
The pedestals for quadrupeds are of polished 
cherry, and the bird perches of mahogany, and 
while we confess a private preference for 
another style of perch yet these would be our 
next choice and are the best we have seen in any 
large museum here or abroad. 
Note. Our own choice of perch is an artificial 
twig- of papier mache. The variety of shapes that can 
be given to perches of this material permits an equal 
variety of attitudes among the birds, which is unattain- 
able when T perches are used. Prof. Scott of Prince- 
ton College, uses the papier mache perch entirely in 
the College Museum, and the result is most pleasing. 
White perches are an abomination and always look 
dirty. 
In adopting the title American Museum, the 
Trustees decided that this should be largely des- 
criptive of the collections, and that while every 
good opportunity should be improved. to obtain 
foreign material, the first effort should be to 
procure the fauna of our own country. This 
plan has been steadily followed, and at the 
present writing the order for Mammals and 
Birds to complete the North American series, is 
now in our hands. Dr. J. B. Holder, Curator of 
the Department of Zoology, has ever been per- 
sistent in his efforts to have the museum possess 
none but the best specimens, and thus the above 
order was made to include many species already 
in the cases, but which did not come up to the 
standard of his critical taste. If there are any 
apparent vacancies in the lower Hall — which 
is devoted to Mammals— it is largely owing to 
this weeding out of poor or indifferent material 
and the temporary deficiencies will soon be 
pleasantly filled. It is among the monkeys that 
gaps are most noticeable, as many have been re- 
jected preparatory to the reception of others, for 
by the generosity of Mr. Robert Colgate, the 
museum is to acquire a complete series of Quad- 
rutnana. When the order is filled the American 
Museum of Natural History will have the finest 
series of these animals in the world, for those 
who have visited the Old World collections, will 
recall the many poorly mounted specimens by 
which they are disfigured. The group of Orangs 
at one end of the Mammal Hall and the Walruses 
at the other are the most striking object, it con 
tains, and from them the observer turns to the 
contents of the cases. The abundance of light 
makes looking a pleasure, while no specimen is 
placed so high or so far back that it can not 
be seen perfectly well. It is the intention of the 
authorities to have none but the best specimens, 
such as will bear the closest inspection. The 
classification of mammals begins at one end of 
the hall and runs completely around it, termina- 
ting in a fine series of marsupials. Among the 
animals in the cases most noticeable for their 
excellence, is a magnificent Lion by Yerreaux, a 
grizzly — formerly a resident in the Central Park 
menagerie — an ounce, and a Bactrian camel, the 
finest that we know of. Recognizing the fact 
that the museum is for the public, and that the 
public is not as a rule scientific, special promi- 
nence has been given to the English names on 
the labels, the Latin being assigned to a subor- 
dinate position. The task of finding common 
names for animals is an extremely difficult one, 
many species that are overweighted with scienti- 
fic names being wholly unknown in the verna- 
cular, and we are somewhat curious to see how 
Dr. Holder will solve the problem when the 
foreign and little known species are reached. 
Inlhe centre of the mammal hall is the large 
collection of shells presented by Miss Wolfe. 
These are still only provisionally arranged, but 
room is to be provided for their proper display 
by the erection of a central series of cases. 
Ascending one flight we find ourselves in the 
hall devoted to birds, and a brief inspection 
shows us that they are not arranged in one series, 
but by countries, and we incline to the opinion 
that this is the best manner. Here one sees the 
characteristic forms of the great geographical 
regions at a glance, and even the most casual 
observer can not fail to gather some idea as to 
what birds are peculiar to certain countries. Of 
course the perfect plan would be to have one 
series arranged by countries and another system- 
atically grouped, but this would necessitate two 
complete sets of specimens and an enormous 
additional expense. Among tlie North Ameri- 
