427 
[Annual Meeting. 
1893.1 
greatest practical obstacle, however, was the rearrangement of 
the different departments in proper sequence in accordance with 
the then newly introduced theory of evolution. This had at that 
time never been attempted in any museum and was declared by 
Agassiz to be foolish and by Wyman to be desirable but probably 
impracticable. The results are well-known to members of the 
Society. All the collections have been added to and built up to 
efficient proportions, they are all placed in approximately natural 
sequence in a series of departments, and each one has acquired 
additional and altogether novel value from this mode of arrange- 
ment. Some years ago Secretary Herzog of Prussia, and lately 
Doctor Reuscli of Norway, both holding high official positions in 
the bureaus of education in their respective countries and well 
acquainted with foreign institutions, spent several hours inspect- 
ing the Museum and gave unstinted praise to the novelty and 
efficiency of the method of arrangement. Professor (foode, Di- 
rector of the National Museum, and the late Professor Baird, both 
experts of high standing in Museology, have reviewed the collec- 
tions and expressed themselves in similar terms. The Educational 
series, including the exhibits in the departments of Mineralogy, 
Geology, Botany, Synoptical Zoology, Osteology, and Paleon- 
tology, is used continually by teachers and students of natural 
history, and its efficiency is thus constantly demonstrated. 
The cataloguing of the specimens in all departments is practi- 
cally complete up to date in all collections except insects and 
worms, and final reports have been made upon nine departments. 
Three collections have been finished and illustrated by treatises 
which are really text books containing the results of much original 
research. A general guide giving a view of the principles upon 
which the Museum is arranged has been published and the 
guide to the Synoptic collections is now in preparation. The 
special printed guides are intended to be permanent contributions 
to knowledge illustrated by the collections of the different depart- 
ments. They are manuals of such a character that they can be 
of use to students in the Boston University, Institute of Tech- 
nology, and even to teachers of natural history in schools of all 
grades. These are founded upon more or less original investiga- 
tion, they take years of special study and preparation for their 
completion, and can only be produced after each department has 
been brought to a certain standard of perfection requiring the 
