32 
THE MUSEUM. 
CHAPTERS DISSOLVED. 
144, Mount Vernon, N. Y. (A.) 
164, Jackson, Mich. (B.) 
352, Amherst, Mass. («\.) 
367, Boston, Mass. (C.) 
452, Burlington, Vt. (A.) 
665, South Framingham, Mass. (A.) 
710, San Bernardino, Cal. 
THE AMATEUR MUSEUM. 
Frank W. Wentworth, of Chicago, has a collec¬ 
tion of birds’ eggs numbering about 400 specimens, 
and including 150 species. 
Benjamin W. Haines, of West Chester, Pa., has 
formed a collection of birds’ eggs, in which 100 
different species are represented, including the Eider 
duck, American pelican, sandhill crane, whooping 
crane, red-tailed hawk, hooded merganser, brown 
pelican, etc. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
J. S. Lincoln. —The half dollar of 1834 (either 
small or large date) is worth only face value. 
F. S.—We know of no instance of a humming 
bird laying more than two eggs. 
Collector. —Your stamp, which has been re¬ 
turned to you, is a Russian envelope stamp, of 1868 
issue. 
J. PI. L.—Pipes of the platform type are rare and 
valuable. An opportunity to secure one of un¬ 
doubted genuineness, should never be lost. 
F. G. P.—The cent of 1797, in fair condition, is 
not worth over 25 cents, while one of 1799 will 
bring $5.00. 
J. J. P.—-Write to Prof. W. G. Farlow, Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass., enclosing stamp for reply.. He is an 
authority on seaweed. 
F. M. Davis. —So far as we know, Maj. J. W. 
Powell, now Director of the U. S. Bureau of Eth¬ 
nology, was the first and only explorer to pass 
through the grand canon of the Colorado, a descrip¬ 
tion of which was published in one of his reports. 
Later, in 1875, a branch of Hayden’s Survey ex¬ 
plored a portion of the great canon of the Rio San 
Juan, to within about 25 miles of its junction with 
the former. 
(Mhmai 
If good wishes were riches, we would already 
possess the reputed wealth of Croesus. Lack of 
space prevents us from publishing a tithe of the 
complimentary things which have been said of our 
first number. We hope to merit the continued good 
will of our subscribers by a steady improvement, 
and trust that ere long we shall feel justified in in¬ 
creasing the size of The Museum. To one and all 
of our well wishers, and to those who have given us 
a more substantial support, we can only say “ Thank 
you!” 
Persons who do not possess the taste for gathering 
together and studying the curious in nature and the 
beautiful in art, are deprived of one of the greatest 
pleasures vouchsafed to mortals. What enjoyment 
can be compared to that which accompanies the 
discovery of some new or rare gem in Nature’s 
varied storehouse ? How much happier is the boy 
who devotes the leisure of his evenings to the ar¬ 
rangement of his little collection, than he who 
spends his time in profitless amusement! 
The Museum will, at all times, discountenance 
the printing and sale of facsimile postage stamps, 
which are nothing less than counterfeits, and are of 
no value whatever to any one. It may not be gener¬ 
ally known that the imitation df postage stamps, 
whether domestic or foreign, is a violation of Sec¬ 
tion 5465 of the Revised Statutes, which reads: 
“Any person who shall forge or counterfeit , or 
knowingly utter or use any forged or counterfeited 
postage stamp of any foreign government , shall be 
punished by imprisonment, at hard labor, of not less 
than two nor more than ten years.” 
No reputable stamp dealer will offer facsimiles 
for sale. 
We shall always be glad to hear from boys and 
girls regarding their collections, and to receive de¬ 
scriptions of specimens which they consider rare or 
interesting. 
Some of the Departments have been unavoidably 
crowded out of this number but will be given space 
in the next. 
