svelte as geo >, ae

~ gets Hall’s collection gets the Geo- logical Museum of America.” Agas- siz himself, shortly before his death, attempted to purchase it. It formed the largest collection in this country, in point of numbers alone, and in its specimens of the early (palaeozoic) periods of geological history, was of preéminent importance. It was almost entirely colleeted by Profes- sor James Hall, with whose investi- gations as State Geologist of New York it is identified, as, in fact, much of it was brought together during the survey of this State. It comprised five thousand type or figured specimens used in the great work on the Pale- ontology of the State of New York. Before the Arsenal was aban- doned the beginnings of a mineralog- ical cabinet were instituted by the purchase of the collection of min- erals of Mr. 8. C. H. Bailey, which contained in a limited series an attrac- tive exhibit of beautiful minerals. In vertebrate remains the fossil eollection of Professor Hall was THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL poor, the superb cabinets of Marsh Their future development can only and Cope, in that day, having no adequate rival in the fragmentary skeletons of a few lizards, sharks, peccaries, and tapirs, the skull of a the teeth and tusks of mastodon, which in the Hall Collee- tion represented the vertebrates. cat, or a In answer to inquiries made by Professor Bickmore, a letter from Julius Von Haast of the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zea- land, was received at the Arsenal in August, 1873, offering a suite of seven complete skeletons and the principal bones of eleven other species of the gigantic moas of New Zealand. The correspondence resulted in their purchase. These remarkable remains of huge struthioid birds, associated with the last stages of geological evolution in New Zea land at the far- famed locality of Glenmark in New Zealand. seums all over the world had ob- tained were exhumed A large number of mu- representative — collections from this locality and it was a fortunate opportunity, adroitly and quickly seized, that enabled the Trus- tees to secure this unique group. The beginnings, perhaps incon- spicuous but sensibly important, of the Archeological and Ethnologi- eal Departments of the Museum were made in these same years, These departments have now as- sumed preponderant proportions. >? be dimly surmised. Amongst the first purchases of archeological ma- terial was that of a few and very precious relics, a remnant from the large collections transported to Salis- bury, England, made by Dr. E. G. Davis in Ohio, when he undertook, with Mr. E. G. Squier, the famous examination of the western mounds. The archzeological treasures of the Museum increased month by month. Purchase and donations alike has- My... G. Marquand presented over two hun- dred pottery, Dr. Jacob Knapp of Louis- tened their expansion. pieces of Missouri mound ville, Ky., stone axes and arrow heads, while a second large collee- tion, that of Col. Charles C, was purchased. ‘This collection was Jones, a very valuable addition, and was Colonel own investigations and publications associated with Jones’s among the Southern Indians. Such, in broad outlines, was the srowth of the collections before the Arsenal was vacated. This increase, the of whose were the curators, to added to, and the impending ques- maintenance numbers soon be tions of support, as the proportions of the Museum grew, brought the President and Trustees face to face with ¢ difficulties. And the gravity of these questions was deepened by the panic and sudden collapse of credit in 1873, erave financial THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL the effects of which were felt for several years. Through the urgency of the Trustees, work was pushed forward on the new building, and steps were already taken having in view the assumption by the city of the expenses of maintenance, in- cluding under that all salaries, and the cost of equipment and its preservation. It was quite evident that if the Trustees were to assume the quite incaleulable outlays necessary for purchases and expeditions, the city, as representing a beneficiary in the enjoyment of these results, should pay the expense of their care and proper installation. Deficit after deficit had been cleared by the Trustees, and indeed on March 10, 1873, it was resolved “that the Trustees pledge themselves to make up pro rata any deficiency that may oc- cur in the annual current expenses.” The Museum was rapidly passing through a transition stage to some- thing more permanent and impres- sive. Its history up to 1877 was a chronicle of acquisitions, increased or diminished revenues, increased attendance. No element of educa- tional intention, original inquiry, or any serious participation in scien- tific work had been developed in it. It had no perceptive functions. Such dormancy was natural. Its occupancy of the Arsenal was tem- porary and provisional. The time of its curators was employed in devising room, in anticipating addi- tions, preserving specimens, form- ulating needs apphances, renovating and poison- and mechanical ing objects, packing and unpacking. It had no laboratory, no publica- tions, had allied itself with no professed body of scientific students or thinkers. Its immediate care was to keep its collections safe. Under such circumstances the re- moval of the Museum from the old Arsenal to the new structure in Manhattan Square appeared more and more necessary. L. P. Gratacap, A.M., Ass’t Curator, Dep't Geology. (To be continued.) The Zodlogical Society has re- cently presented the following ani- mals to the Museum: One Ant- Bear ( Myrmecophagus jubata ); one Florida Lynx (Lynx rufus); one Bengal Tiger (felis tigris); two Swift Foxes (Vulpes macrotus ) ; one Woodland Caribou (young) (Rangifer floridanus noveterre ) ; one Prong-Horned Antelope (_Anf?- locapra americana) ; one Peregrine Falcon (alco peregrinus) ; one American Whistling or White Swan ( Olor columbiana ); one Wood Ibis ( Tantalus loculator) ; one South African Geometric Tortoise ( Zestu- do geometrica ); one Leather-Backed Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea ). 1 A is eee THE COPE PAMPEAN COLLECTION. NOTABLE addition to the fossil vertebrates in the American Mu- seum of Natural His- tory is the collection of oO 1) 2, 2. } 0) i} o) oe Ve} 2 Oo! (ksx iy oS te on, o io S. i} iS South American fossil mammals re- cently presented by Messrs. H. O. Havemeyer, William E. Dodge, D. Willis James, James M. Constable, Adrian Iselin, and Henry F. Os- The Museum has hitherto had hardly any representation of these strange monsters of the southern but it now make an exceptionally com- plete and representative display of one of the most extraordinary assem- blages of animals that ever lived. born. extinct continent : can The collection formed a part of * Exposition Universelle de Paris, Groupe second, Classe huitiéme. MUSEUM JOURNAL the exhibit of the Argentine Re- public at the Paris Exposition of 1878. It was gathered by Messrs. Ameghino, Larroque, and Brachet, and described by Dr. Ameghino in a special catalogue.* It was at that time, and still is, one of the finest collections of South American fos- sils ever got together, and seems to have attracted much attention. It was purchased in 1878 by the late Professor Cope, with the in- tention that it should be displayed in the projected Permanent Exposi- tion at Fairmount Park in Phila- The project, however, was not carried out, and the collee- delphia. tion remained stored away in the cellar of Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, for over twenty years, always in the hope that a suitable place would be provided for its exhibi- tion. Finally, in 1899, through the efforts of Professor Osborn and the generosity of the Trustees above mentioned, it was purchased for the American Museum, and will be ex- hibited in the new hall on the fourth floor of the east wing. These fossils are found in the Pampean formation, so called from its forming the surface of the pam- pas of the Argentine and near-by states — broad, grassy plains not unlike our own western plains, but nearer the sea-level, and with a somewhat harsher climate. Here Catalogue Special de la Section Anthropologique et Paléontologique de la République Argentine. 24 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL and there, where streams cut chan- nels through the sand and fine loam of the pampas, they expose fossil skeletons, of which the first speci- mens, brought to Europe in the be- ginning of the century, formed the greatest scientific marvels of the time. They belong to the most recent geological period, when man had perhaps already appeared upon the earth. South America was at that time inhabited by animals of the most extraordinary characters, some of gigantic size, and most of them unlike any creatures now living. Of these extinct animals there are several hundred specimens in this collection, including nine complete skeletons of as many different species, besides skulls and incom- plete skeletons of many more. The largest of these South Amer- ican animals were the great Ground- Sloths, somewhat like the little Tree-Sloths which now inhabit the forests of Brazil, but of gigantic size and massive proportions, the hindquarters and tail being espe- cially stout and heavy. They had great digging claws on the feet, which were used in uprooting and pulling down trees in order to feed on their foliage. There were many different species, varying from the size of an ox to that of the largest elephants. Two complete skeletons suitable for mounting, besides many less perfect specimens, represent the Ground-Sloths in the Cope Pam- pean Collection. Smaller than the Ground-Sloths, but more unique in character, were the Glyptodonts, large quadrupeds encased in bony armor. 3 5 MUSEUM JOURNAL divisions of the Tonalamatl, or period of 260 days; the third part 10 the = = is historical, givit names of the Aztecan rulers of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), and the dates of their reigns, with pictorographs of impor- tant events, Through the Hon. Amos Cum. mings, the Library has received 237 volumes relating to the different departments of the Government. These all works which the Librarian has been striving to obtain for several years and their accession, in bulk, is particularly gratifying. Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, U. S. A., the Hon. William Astor Chanler, the Indiana State Library, the Ohio State Library, and Dr. Franz Boas have severally contri- are buted many important works. THE exhibit illustrating the life, habits and surroundings of the mammals found within fifty miles of New York now includes every- thing except the Lynx, the Otter, the smaller rodents, the Mole, and the bats ; all of which will be added as the opportunity occurs. Naturalists and children alike find these groups of great interest. The patience and art of the taxidermist have here conjured up, mainly through stones, dead leaves, and tree-trunks, a series of charming vi- sions of the inner lives of ‘ Brer Fox,’ ‘Brer Rabbit, and other creatures. Te Bie Av ry ae ee MUSEUM J0UR Mr THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL (Continued ) ss) E Art Museum had / Oy secured the Deer Park east of the reservoir at 8ist Street for its new location, and Manhat- tan Square on the west side of the Park was allotted to the Museum of Natural History. comprised eighteen acres which had This region been reserved for a park, years be- fore the design of a Central Park was suggested. It included a rug- ged, disconsolate tract of ground, the gneiss ledges protruded their weath- thrown into hillocks where ered shapes, or depressed 10 hollows filled with stagnant pools, and bear- ing throughout an uncompromising, scarcely serviceable appearance. The elevated railroad did not then extend beyond 59th Street, the pres- ent bridge over the walled bridle- path into the Park was not yet built, and the Museum thus stood isolated both from the Park and from the populous city. The region around was an unsettled district 77 ¢ransitu to something permanent and homo- geneous. It was compounded in its pictorial aspect of several discor- dant yet picturesque elements; it embraced old farms, ruinous land- marks of ancient New York, brand new stores, sanitary modern tene- 36 HIS LOnaA, ments, bewildering mazes of hovels clustered together over swelling knobs of rocky ledges, and pretty kitchen gardens lying in its deep depressions. The banks of the Hud- son retained in places woods as old as New Amsterdam, and the daily stage which rolled up the spacious boulevard to Manhattanville added a suggestive touch of antiquity to all. It had been proposed to make this square into a Zodlogical Garden. Plans of a very extravagant char- acter had been practically prepared, Bear pits and aviaries united with a museum of paleontological resto- rations had been indefinitely hinted at, and might have materialized, if the more prosaic views of Judge Hilton had not intervened. The drawing and preparation of the plans for the new building had been finally assigned to Calvert Vaux, whose arehiteetural skill and established reputation for practical good judgment in construction, to- be | gether with his official relations to the new government of the Park, determined the selection. The design offered by Mr, Vaux For the entire edi- fice there was contemplated a_hol- was accepted, low square, the sides to be formed TAH AM PRPC AN MUSEUM JOUBNSSs of four great buildings, five hundred feet long, ornate in material and de- tail, and distinguished by large en- trances of architectural dignity and strength. Only a section of this entire fabric was now to be begun. It faintly suggested the stupendous proportions contemplated for the complete building, representing in- deed only the fourteenth part of it, and a subordinate part as well. The whole structure was intended to cover fifteen acres and to fill a space three times larger than the basement area of the British Museum. A building of this great size, with its long hallways filled with classi- fied collections, would, it was hoped, embrace the most diverse king- The exact sciences might even here find a home, the technical apphances in the doms of nature. and arts the exhibition of their numberless adaptations. The world would be its contributor, the nation its patron, and in the most perfect condition of usefulness and vigor, room for its lecture-rooms would become the schoolhouse of the people. The new building at length was Its arch- Its position in the centre of Manhattan Square gave it a bold relief, which was heightened by a certain incon- It could hardly lay any claims to strue- completed and equipped. itecture was hardly striking. eruity with the surroundings. 38 tural beauty ; an impressive solidity conjoined with a dwarfing sense of incompleteness at first disappointed the visitor, until he realized that ex- terior effect had been exchanged for interior convenience, and that this edifice only represented a fraction of the final colossus it foreshadowed. The acquisition of the Hall collec- tion with its 80000 to 100000 spec- imens, including types and figured specimens nearly 7000 in number, made it at once imperative to secure professional assistance in their ar- y, As the needs of the Museum in this respect rangement and labelling. were likely to grow constantly, the steps taken to obtain the help of the city in its maintenance were far from premature. The burden of its support could no longer be allowed to rest on the shoulders of the Trus- tees alone. Almost immediately upon the opening of the new building allian- ces sprang up with surveys and with original investigators, while collee- tions and libraries were added to the Museum’s possessions. Amongst these latter may be mentioned the gift of the President, Robert L. Stuart, who purchased and depos- ited the magnificent ichthyological C. Donations of books and and scientific works of James Brevoort. pamphlets and the natural accessions from surveys, societies, institutes, furnished other and individuals THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL sources of increase, so that in the Annual Report for 1879, the Presi- dent announced that the library contained 12000 books and 6000 pamphlets. Work on the collec- tions progressed with vigor and success, and was gratefully acknow- ledged by the Trustees. The local isolation which had at first seemed discouraging was in pro- cess of improvement. The Man- hattan Elevated Railway pushed forward its tracks to S1lst Street and on to Harlem, and brought Manhat- tan Square into practical union with all quarters of the city. ordinary movement northward was An extra- soon developed, and the ridges of rock, unpleasantly encumbered with shanties, were blasted to a level, Centres of population were created, as in 72d Street and the Dakota Apart- ments, St. Agnes’ Church at 94th Street with its surroundings, and the growling inhabitation of Riverside Drive. ‘These, spreading, met along lengthening lines of contact, and a population was becoming localized directly at the doors of the Museum. The Park Board spent thousands of dollars upon the embellishment of Manhattan Square. The Trustees saw the urgency of providing more room for their collections. In all directions, within and without, the conditions were prophetic of greater and graver financial responsibilities. and covered with houses. 9 a The feature of Public Instruction was inevitably presented on every side; Professor Bickmore, consider- ing its possibilities, conceived in 1880 the scheme of courses of pub- lic lectures to city school teachers. This project rapidly materialized and the reader may be invited later to consider its history and results. The year 1880 closed the admin- istration of Robert L. Stuart: it was also mournfully signalized by the death in his fifty-eighth year of an orig- inal founder and first Vice-President of the Museum, William A. Haines. Mr. Haines had certainly devised in his own mind, at an early day, His ap- petency for natural study, his de- to of natural science (conchology), led him to regret the absence in New York of a great Museum of Natural History, and he responded instantly to the requests of his fellow-citizens to as- sume a prominent connection with the first efforts to create one. In Mr. Haines’ nature the princi- ple of order ruled. In his business, system was conspicuous. In his col- lection of shells, with which the writer has been brought closely in contact, system, painstaking accur- acy, are most striking. His mind worked instinctively in the direction and under the guidance of precision. Mr. Stuart resigned his Presi- dency, Feb. 14, 1881. Mr. Stuart’s 9 some form of a Museum. votion one branch THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL connection with the Museum had been made memorable by important changes and advances, which had carried the enterprise forward to a suggestive expression of greatness. Not indeed that the institution at that time was a great museum in it had entered, nevertheless, upon a path of continuous improvement ; any cosmopolitan sense ; it was somewhat appropriately housed, and to realize its far more ambitious hopes. During Mr. Stuart’s administra- tion the first section of the Museum was built and occupied, maintenance steps had already been taken had been secured in a measure from the city, the Hall collection paid for, and enormous additions had was been made to the collections; while its obvious prominence was bringing it correspondence with the scientific influences of the country. Mr. Stuart bad himself been a bene- factor of great by wise into value: he had also admonition assisted the material growth of the Museum. Mr. Stuart’s resignation preceded by only two years his demise. He died December 12, 1882, in the 77th year of his age. Mr. D. Jackson Steward, his inti- mate friend, has thus summarized his career: ‘Mr. Stuart’s success as a business man had attracted attention. York he had with his brother Alexander rapidly added to his modest inheritance, Born in New and seizing the opportunities opening in 40 the sugar business advanced his fortune with marked skill. of education, Tis gifts to the cause to religious and charitable institutions and projects were numerous. Stuart Hall at Princeton, the Presbyter- ian Hospital, Dr. Hall’s former church, were all largely, the first entirely, indebted to him for His munifi- cence to the Museum had been equally their erection. great, while in the unpublished provinces of private charity, his sympathy had been helpful to thousands.” L. P. Gratacap, A.M. Dep't Geology. ( To be continued, ) Asst Curator. THE WORK AND PROGRESS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. =e — Department of Pub- lic Instruction of the American Museum of Natural History one of the earliest to was be established. Its first curator, Prof. Albert S. Bickmore, was one of those instrumental in the founda- tion of the Museum, and he has de- voted himself with such success to the development of his department that under him its work has been ex- tended far beyond the original scope. It is now coming to be generally recognized that next to actual travel- ling, one of the best ways to make geography, history, and kindred subjects leave any real effect on the mind, lies through the voice of the lecturer, calling attention in an agreeable manner to the noteworthy THE AMERICAN features of good stereopticon views and weaving his comments into one continuous whole. Realizing this, Bick- more has traversed the world for Professor views; travelling has been his life- He has also con- stantly studied the most effective long occupation. methods of stereoscopy. In regard to the photographic qualities of the slides, it is certain that they are re- markably clear and have unusual depth. All of the views mirably colored. In the new lecture hall of this Museum they will be thrown are ad- on two enormous screens each twenty-five feet square. The relation of the department to the public schools of the State has been one of increasing usefulness. A law passed in 1884 and re-enacted from time to time, authorized the Su- perintendent of Public Instruction to furnish sets of these lectures free of charge except for the necessary expenses of transportation, upon request of the local school author- ities of each city and village of the State having a superintendent of free common schools; and_ these authorities were further empowered to cause the lectures to be repeated, when convenient, to the “artisans, mechanics, and other citizens” of their respective towns. Also the State Superintendent was authorized to extend the same privileges to any institution instructing a_ teachers’ MUSEUM JOURNAL training class or any union free In this enactment, in 1895 sixty-six towns school. accordance with and villages availed themselves of these privileges, and through them any school in the State can obtain the slides. Successful in the common and high schools, this work began to attract the attention of the kinder- garten instructors. The law was accordingly amended to provide for this new departure; a special set of lectures was prepared with the co- operation of those interested, and now the system is gradually spread- ing among the kindergartens. Appreciation of the lectures was meanwhile growing up outside of the Clergymen and others, availing themselves of that clause in the statute which permits sche Ols. the local school boards to cause the lectures to be delivered to the “ art- and other citi- zens,’ delivered free lectures to the Isans, mechanics, people under the auspices of the Boards. As an example of the suc- cess of the system in this field one might cite the letter of a clergyman of Watertown, N. Y., who delivered several of the lectures in the city hall. After speaking of the remark- able growth in attendance upon ‘successive evenings, the writer com- AI ments upon the interest in the lec- tures on the part of workingmen. From localities outside of New THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL THE ARCH OF PONS AMILIUS AND THE TIBER. [A representative view from the lecture on Italy.] ‘** The first bridge that was built over the Tiber connected ancient Rome with the Janiculum, the high hill on the other side. It wason this that Horatius stood and held back the advancing hosts of Lars Porsena while the Romans cut the bridge behind him, and he leaped into the yellow river and safely reached the shore of the city. That bridge was rebuilt many times. It was always regarded as having a semi-sacred character ; so much so that no iron was per- mitted to enter into its structure. It remained for a long period, but later on was replaced by a stone bridge, of which this central archway still remains. Therefore we are looking on the place where Horatius held back the Etruscans that came down from Veii, and here he saved his city by his own right arm.” THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL York State requests are constantly coming in. The Projection Club of Chicago —an association of teachers in that city formed for the purpose of introducing the system into their State—have purchased several sets at their own expense. The Depart- ment of Public Instruction of Con- necticut has enthusiastically adopted the system; the lectures and slides are so sought after by the schools of the State that the State Board has drawn up quite a formidable set of rules to regulate their dis- tribution. From Dayton, Ohio, Mr. J. H. Patterson, an employer of hundreds of men, and one that co- operates with them in every way possible, writes: “ No pictures that I have ever seen in this country or abroad will compare with the ones you have sent us, and I am more enthusiastic than ever on the im- portance of the stereopticon in im- parting knowledge.” He predicts a great spread of the system and comments upon its success in his own town. Finally the Hon. Dean C. Worcester, United States Com- missioner to the Philippine Islands, has recently written to the effect that he will endeavor to introduce the system in the Philippines. The mechanical equipment of the department has of course had to keep pace with the rapidly increas- ing demands upon it. Twenty-two different sets of slides and lectures and nearly fifty for the university series for the common-school series have been prepared and each set re- duplicated several and usually many times. Besides this, the Curator has had to give personal instruction in the management of the lectures to many of those who conduct them. Here at the Museum Professor Bickmore delivers a series of lectures to three sets of people every season. On Saturday mornings the lectures are delivered to school teachers ; on Thursday evenings to members of the Museum; on legal holidays they are delivered free to the public, with- out even the formality of a ticket. The average attendance per lecture during 1899 was nine hundred and sixty. In succeeding numbers we hope to keep our readers informed of the progress of this important educational work. Woke 6: PHOTOGRAPHS collected by members of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition will be reproduced by the heliotype process in large quarto form, and published under the title ‘Ethnographical Album of the North Pacific Coasts of America and Asia.’ It is intended to issue the Al- bum to subscribers only, in parts of at least 24 plates annually, the whole series to embrace 120 plates. Part I, consisting of 28 platesillustrating In- dian types from the interior of Brit- ish Columbia, has already appeared. 4 2] Us AMERICAN MUSEUM JOUENAD INSECT COLLECTIONS FROM THE BLUE RIDGE. oom HAT Asheville, N. C., Black Moun- the Blue Ridge Range, covered stands tain of with virgin woods of chestnut, oak and evergreens, bal- sams and thick groves of spruce. The mid-day sun beats down through a moist atmosphere and the nights are chilly. The damp woods are dark, knee-deep as it were in vegetable mould, and the laurel grows into trees. of dead The thick layer leaves, the branches and leaves, are the environments for many families, genera, and species, of Beetles predominantly, but also of the Butterfly order, the Grass- ~ hopper order and so forth. The Beetle order is here adapted to fill many roles. There are leaf- eaters, eaters of roots and woody tissue, carnivores, and, in the dark, lowermost layers of mould, blind Nor is there less diversity in size, from earrion and ground beetles. the loutish Hereules down to the minute Corylophid. The colors ae- cord generally with the twilight of the habitat. In this locality, and here alone are found the species of the the very rare and prized Nomaretus venus Nomaretus, especially emperfectus, which preys upon snails, and eludes collectors. The rich insect fauna of this locality has never been thoroughly Curator Beutenmiller therefore devoted four weeks of this its exploration. Though naturally not neglecting worked ; summer to any entomological opportunity that offered, the Curator spent the most labor upon the Beetle order, which By carefully sifting great quantities of happened to be “in season.” the dead leaves into a bag he eir- cumvented the escape of even the most minute forms. Three weeks’ perseverance in this operation re- warded him with the prized Vo- maretus above mentioned, with several species new to science and with about two thousand specimens in all to add to the Museum collections. The scientific results of the trip will later in one of the Museum publications. Meanwhile | appear the collected material is being pre- pared for exhibition. Certainly, the scores of minute beetles already mounted on cork slabs and identi- fied, offer illustra- tion of how easy it is, on account an instructive of the small size of the specimens, to take in whole families of insects at a single glance. The meaning of zodlogical classification is perhaps nowhere more luminously apparent than in a well-arranged collection of insects. One might summarize the results 44 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL of this collecting trip as follows: extensive additions to the entomo- logical collections, worth at least twice the cost of the trip; field notes on all specimens —for the purposes of exact investigation per- fectly essential; the inspiration of field work accruing to the Curator, that comes only from studying the living animal in its own environ- w. kK. ment, G. PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS OF PUEBLOS AND CLIFF- DWELLERS BY THE HYDE EXPEDITION. =)HE Museum investiga- the graphical limits and tions on geo- physical measure- ments of the Pueblo tribes of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, and of the ancient Cliff- dweller and Aztec in- habitants of the same region, have been conducted since their system- atic beginning in 1898 by Dr. A. Hrdlicka, the expense being borne by Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. Dr. Hrdli¢ka has recently com- pleted another season’s harvesting of exact data, this year carried on among the Mokis, Zunis, Rio Grande Pueblos and the several divisions of Apaches. The winter will be de- voted to analyzing the data obtained. The results of this year’s expedition include numerous sets of measure- ments, detailed physical, physiologi- eal and medical observations, and eighty plaster casts of the face, se- cured among the different tribes. The objects of this investigation are: first, to definitely settle the racial geography of the region men- tioned above —this must be accu- rately known before trustworthy to the origin and history of the various inferences can be made as tribes; second, to discover the rela- tionship between these surviving tribes and the extinet peoples of the same region. The first field work in pursuit of these aims was done by Dr. Hrdlicka in 1898, when he collected anthropo- metric data among the Tarahumare, Huichol, and Tepecan Indians of old Before this the Doctor had done considerable work on the Mexico. Museum osteological material from Mexico and the southwestern states; in 1899 systematic investigations were carried on among the Navahos and Utes; 1900 saw the completion of the work in Colorado, Utab, New Mexico, and eastern Arizona. West- ern Arizona Indians and the greater part of those of Mexico remain to be studied. THE collection of rare African antelope skins received in exchange from the Field Columbian Museum are now all mounted and placed on exhibition in the Gallery. THE AMERICAN CUSTOMS OF THE ANCIENT THOMPSON RIVER VAL- LEY TRIBES. mtie = hy ’ Tal ; Ts = alll problems engaging the Jesup North Pa- cific Expedition make exact and necessary broad _ investigation not only of the remaining aboriginal tribes of North America and north- eastern Asia but of their predeces- sors as well; it is essential that wherever possible the main outlines of the physical characteristics and cus- toms of the latter be reconstructed. The archeological collections made by Mr. Harlan [. Smith in the Thompson River Region, B. C., are being arranged by him with the purpose of making the specimens tell a connected story, of helping the visitor, in fact, to mentally re- construct for himself the life of the ancient people. Consequently the particular objects are exhibited not as being valuable in themselves, but only as so many bits of evidence. Under this view a piece of broken, sooty stone may be of as much value as a carved war-club. The first division of the exhibit shows by photographs and maps the topography of the collecting- ground, This is followed by an exhibit of the made use of by the people; the natural resources next embraces implements for se- MUSEUM JOURNAL curing food; a third, implements for preparing food; another, evi- dences of the dress and ornamenta- tion; another, games, amusements, and narcotics; others, art, methods of burial, and so forth. The labels strive to be at once clear and brief, referring for details to the illustrated report of the Ex- pedition. PARIS EXPOSITION. AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. STE admirable work of Piof. A. S. Bickmore and his assistants was Paris by the award of a Gold Medal, especially to the pho- recognized in tographic slides illustrating the lectures: “Across the American Continent” and “The Hawaiian Islands.” The “ wide system of free education ” carried on by this de- partment in coéperation with the State Board of Education was espe- the was moreover mentioned in award, Bickmore cially Professor invited to give two public lectures illustratin instruction. in the Trocadero his cr o method of visual Mr. Frank M. Chapman, Assistant Curator of the Department of Ver- tebrate Zodlogy, will give a special lectures on Birds on Saturday afternoons at three course of six o'clock, beginning November 10th. 46 PHANTS, HORSES AND DINOSAURS. =H REE expeditions to the West from the Department of Ver- tebrate Palzeont logy were planned by Pro- fessor Osborn. ‘The first, under Mr. Granger with Dr. Loomis of Am- herst and three assistants, returned to the Jurassic region, Central Wy- oming. One section continued the excavation of the famous Bone Cabin Quarry, and secured some valuable new material, including especially a large part of a Morosaur’ skull. Another section spent six weeks in prospecting, and was finally rewarded by locating what promises to be an exceptionally fine skeleton of 7. plodocus in the old Como bluffs ; this is now being taken up. The second expedition, into the Laramie under Mr. Brown, was for a long time un- successful, but the latest advices in- dicate the discovery of a large part of an armored dinosaur and _ still more valuable, the nearly if not quite complete skeleton of the American iguanodont, Claosaurus. The third expedition, into Texas under Mr. Gidley and Mr. Zinsser of Columbia University, has also been very successful; the little known Mt. Blanco beds have yielded an THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL to science, and remains of camels. In London and Paris Professor Osborn continued his studies upon many fossil rhinoceroses, and made numer- ous plans for the extension of our collection by exchange and other- wise. Dr. Matthew also has taken advantage of a long journey through the museums of Europe to strengthen our ties with our many foreign friends, and to observe the latest museum methods. The Museum was represented at the Geological Congress in Paris by Professor Osborn, who presented two papers, one upon the relations of Europe and America during the Tertiary period, and a second upon Museum Methods. The latter re- lated chiefly to our new methods in field and museum work, and was illustrated by twenty-two large bro- mide photographs which aroused exceptional interest. Votume I of the Report on the Jesup North Pacific Expedition has been completed through the pub- heation of Mr. Harlan J. Smith’s memoir on the “ Archeology of the Thompson River Region, B. C.” Volume II has begun with “ Tra- ditions of the Chileotin Indians,” by Dr. Livingston Farrand of Col- umbia University. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JO tee The completed south facade of the Museum is 740 feet in length. As at present planned the Museum will ul- timately have four such facades, one on every side of the square, MAIN ENTRANCE. Copyrighted 1900, Very encouraging is the growing at- tendance and inter- est of the pupils of the Publie Schools. From May to De- cember, 1899, in- clusive, nearly three thousand scholars, accompa- nied by their teach- ers, visited the TEACHERS AND PUPILS STUDYING COLLECTIONS IN HALL OF FOSSIL MAMMALS. Museum. 48 American Museum Journal Volume I NOVEMBER, 1900 Number 4 INTERIOR OF THE NEW AUDITORIUM. THE NEW AUDITORIUM AND THE OPENING RECEPTION. | new lec- the Mu- formally SHE beautiful ture-hall of seum was delivered to the care of the Trustees on Oc- tober 30th by the Hon. George C, Clausen, President of the Depart- ment of Parks, on behalf of the City. The occasion was marked also by the opening of the new conchological and anthropological halls and by the presence of over 2000 guests. Brief addresses were made by the President, by Controller Coler, Dr. H. M. Leipziger, Hon. Charles R. Skinner, and Bishop Potter. — Prof. Albert 8S. Bickmore exhibited some superb views of the Paris Exposi- tion taken for the Museum Depart- ment of Public Instruction. The might be outlined as follows: remarks of the speakers The Trustees and other citizens had not only willingly made munifi- cent gifts to the Museum, but had given their energetic personal service during its extraordinary growth. They had been cordially and in- variably supported by the muni- cipal authorities, and the Museum was wholly without a trace of “ poli- tics.” It was a distinct factor in the advancement of natural science, but chiefly it gave to all the people an opportunity to appreciate Nature. This beautiful auditorium and the THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL visual-instruction system of Profes- sor Bickmore’s department must surely make the natural-history col- lections still more significant to the people. The auditorium itself excited considerable interest. It contains about fourteen hundred seats, from every one of which both lecture- screens can be well seen. Its high, sweeping arches make the interior seem spacious and beautiful. Back of the stage are two great solid plaster screens each twenty-five feet square, while for certain purposes a third can be let down in the middle. Up in the central part of the gallery is the chamber from which the views are projected. This chamber contains some in- teresting apparatus. ‘The long slate switch-board controlling the stereop- ticons was planned and designed by Mr. Lucien C. Laudy of the Depart: ment of Public Instruction, and Mr. C.C. Sibley. It is divided into four sections, eight pairs of current- and pressure-meters and their lamps, seven sets of resistance coils, many The first three divisions correspond to the three lecture-screens above men- tioned; the fourth enables the oper- ator to regulate the total current needed. The stereopticons also are highly perfected mechanisms. By means of speaking-tubes and tele- cross-connecting switches, ete. phones the operator can communi- 5° cate either with the lecturer or with the engineer of the dynamos. The ventilating and heating ap- paratus also is interesting. The in- coming pure air is warmed by passing over steam radiators and is forced in through the top and sides of the hall; the exhausted air is drawn through smal] openings un- der the seats. This arrangement does away with draughts and makes it easy to regulate the temperature. The lecture-hall building is also to be oecupied by the Department of Public Instruction. There are offices, rooms for photographing, and rooms for the storing of nega- tives and for the packing of the many thousands of slides sent out yearly by the Department. Ww. K. G. THE NEW CONCHOLOGICAL HALL. LARGE part of the conchological collee- tion has been trans- ferred to the new hall on the third floor of the South Wing, which was opened to the public on October 30th. The collection has been arranged somewhat novel lines. The shelves of the wall-cases are tipped downwards so as to better display the specimens; and are covered with dark green cloth, on which the shells on THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL are laid directly, without. the usual cardboard trays. This soft, dark background brings out the strong curves of the huge /usus probosci- diferus, the well-moulded capacious- ness of the big Melos and Cymbas, the evolving rhythm and sweep of the beautiful Argonauts; it har- monizes also with the mellow color- schemes and chaste designs of the Harp Shells, the Partridge Tuns, the delicate Olives, and the well-con- ceived loveliness of many others. According to the wish of the donor, the D. Jackson Steward col- lection, which occupies the south side of the hall, will ultimately be classified in accordance with the old Lamarckian system, an arrangement of great interest for historical rea- sons and of practical value to the conchologist for comparison. The exhibit of marine univalves on the north side of the hall is il- lustrated by colored diagrams and maps, showing the anatomy of the typical shell-animals, their geo- graphical distribution, ete. with interesting notes on the natural history. There is also a beautiful series of specimens cut to show the structure and mode of growth of typical shells, which reveals the manifold and strange loveliness hidden in the penetralia of the shell-animals’ houses. pens 51 ARCTIC MAMMAL CLUB. SHE last proof of the late Mr. generosity toward the Museum was his offer to contribute $2000 a year for three years towards zodlogi- eal exploration in Alaska, provided that other friends of the Museum would raise this amount to $5000. The purpose of the exploration is to secure the Alaskan and British Co- lumbian mammals and birds for the Museum, beginning with the very Constable’s large Alaskan mammals, such as the Kadiae Bear and Alaskan Moose. Mr. A.J. Stone, whose notable jour- ney through arctic America has re- cently been described in the Museum “ Bulletin,” is to lead the expedition, and is eminently fitted for this im- portant work. The executors of Mr. Constable’s estate have kindly agreed to allow this offer to stand until the re- mainder is raised, but as yet little progress has been made. There has been some talk of forming a club for the furtherance of this object, which will probably be called the “ Aretic Mammal Club.” Mr. G. O. Shields has shown a warm interest in the project. In the meantime, Mr. Stone, with characteristic energy and disinterestedness, has gone to Alaska with the aid of a very mod- erate sum, paid by the Museum. TE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL NATURAL HISTORY. (Continued ) [} » ‘ years on the Execu- tive Committee, was unanimously elected President. He succeeded at both a promising and a critical instant. The prospects of the Museum were broadening immensely, but the re- sponsibilities were likewise increas- New de- partments were shaping themselves, ing in exact proportion, scientific precision and scientific in- itiative were demanded, more build- ings were needed, the foundation of an endewment fund seemed immi- nent, and more revenue from the city was deemed urgent. Almost the first step taken by the President, at his own expense and as a gift to the Museum, was the creation of an economic department, having in view a collection of all the woods of the United States that could be devoted to building and manufacturing purposes. The Jesup Wood Collection rapidly expanded, and under the stimulation of Profes- sor Sargent, and the munificence of its donor, reached such proportions as seriously to interfere with the con- exhibitions of other venience and departments. It made imperative a 5 ° ~ new demand upon the Legislature for more room in a larger building, and formed the starting-point of that marvellous expansion which has es- tablished the American Museum of Natural History amongst the great museums of the world. Amid a variety of pressing ques- tions, the financial one readily took precedence. In November, 1879, it Was necessary to raise $26,000 to clear the Museum of all indebted- ness; this sum was almost entirely secured through the individual con- In the following year it became evident that the time had come for the exercise of the strictest economy. While Chairman of the Executive Committee, and just prior to his assuming the presidency, Mr. Jesup had submitted a detailed report on the financial condition of the Mu- seum, in which he earnestly directed the attention of the Trustees to such tributions of the Trustees. economic changes as seemed practi- cable in the future administration of the fiscal affairs of the Institution. The report also served the pur- pose of bringing the future presi- dent very closely in contact with the administrative workings of the Mu- seum and of impressing him with "NOILVYLSININGY SidNS3P LN3GISSYd 4O ONINNIDSG SHL LV G3Y¥v3ddV¥ LI SV ‘HLYON S3HL WOYS ONIGTING WN3SNW JO M3lA Of) Lv) THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL the serious requirements of money for its progress or appropriate main- tenance. It hence became at once, upon his assuming the presidency, an ever-present purpose in his mind to establish an endowment fund, and to secure adequate recognition from the city. The President also succeeded in efficiently raising the maintenance fund, and thus secured for the future the legitimate assumption by the city of a reasonable portion of the Museum’s operating expenses. — It required a persistent effort to estab- lish the necessary recognition of the Museum as an educational institu- tion by the city, and the avenue of intercession most effective was through the demonstration of in- creased expenses by enlarged build- ings. ‘These were urgently needed, and the President deliberately and successfully devoted his earnest at- tention to the measures requisite to influence the Legislature and the municipal authorities to make ap- propriations for the extraordinary additions completed since 1880. Since Mr. Jesup’s election as President the central south section, the east and west wings, and the terminal towers have been added to the original north-and-south see- tion, while a great lecture-hall of really remarkable dimensions has been constructed and equipped upon the north extremity of the original building. This first wing has be- come imbedded in a group of build- ings which have quadrupled its exhibition space, and superimposed upon its comparatively simple con- trol a complication of new re- sponsibilities in lighting, heating, watching, cleaning, and equipment. The Museum in 1881 began the issuing of bulletins, a step of mo- mentous consequences, and one which resulted in a series of publi- ‘ations of great scientific weight. Besides the new stimulus they im- parted to the scientific affilations of the Museum, these publications were most influential in bringing additions to the Library. The material already accumulated was not inconsiderable. The superb library of Dr. Jay, purchased and presented to the Museum by Miss In 1885 Miss Wolfe supplemented this gift by a further donation of works and serial publications selected with the view of bringing the conchological Wolfe, formed its nucleus. library up to date; an intention partially achieved. The Brevoort library, the library of Prof. R. P. Whitfield, were also added, the former by the donation of Mr. R. L. Stuart, the latter through pur- chase. In 1886 Mr. Hugh J. Jewett donated 350 beautifully bound vol- umes on voyages and travels, many of which were rare original editions. In 1887 the ornithological library of fen AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL D. G. Elliot was purchased and pre- sented to the Museum by Mr. Cor- nelius Vanderbilt and Mr. Percy R. Pyne. This library was of especially well-selected books, and supple- mented well the fine ornithological collections. At this time (1888) the Library included almost 10,000 volumes and over 5000 pamphlets. In 1891, Mrs. M. Schuyler Elliot presented the library collected and owned by her husband, the late S. Lowell Elliot, as a memorial gift. It consisted of 9500 volumes and 3500 pamphlets. In 1892, 400 volumes were donated by Mr. Alex- ander J. Cotheal, and 168 volumes by Mr. Samuel P. Avery, while in the same year valuable donations were received from Mr. Morris K. Jesup. In 1892 the works on en- tomology comprising the library of the late Harry Edwards were acquired through purchase by the Trustees. His excellency Sefor Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, became a friend of the Museum Library in 1894, and gave to it a number of valuable works relating to the archeology of Mexico, with which later the Museum became in- timately associated. In 1895 the Library contained 30,438 volumes. Amongst the last important gifts was a series of ex- ceedingly valuable works bearing on the archeological history of Mexico and Central America, with oe) which were very thoughtfully inclu- ded general works of a useful char- acter for library purposes, the whole being given by the Duke of Lou- bat. Also a group of handsomely bound works of Natural History and travel was presented by Miss Laura P. Halstead. But the most princely oift in recent years to the Library was the memorial presentation of the Jules Marcou library, comprising 3000 volumes, 5000 parts and num- bers, 5000 pamphlets, and 1200 maps. This very extraordinary ac- cession was the gift of Dr. Philippe and John B. Marcou. Since 1880 the Library has been in charge of Anthony Woodward, Ph.D., who has continuously served the Museum since 1877. The indications hereby shown of the growth of the Library have been general,—the salient points in the history of its enlargement have alone been selected; but a stream of acquisitions maintained from a host of individuals, together with the natural increments derived from exchanges, continued through twenty years, has produced this huge deposit of books, whose classification, elimination, selection, and catalogu- ing have now become so urgent. L. P. Graracap, A.M., Ass’t Curator, Dep’t Geology. ( To be continued. ) IN CONNECTION with the library it should be noted that the reading-room is open to the pub- lic from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., daily. Lae AMER LC AN MUSEUM JOURNAL MUSEUM ARCHAZOLOGICAL NOTES RELATING TO MEX- ICO, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. =4\ 1 E activity of the Museum in bringing to light by research, excavation, and col- lection, the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central and South America un- diminished. The work in Mexico, supported by the Duke of Loubat, goes on was resumed in November when Mr. Saville started southward. The work of the two previous seasons, under the agreement with the Mex- ican Government, has covered the field pretty thoroughly in Xoxo and Mitla, in the State of Oaxaca. This year the work will be carried on and extended on lines suggested by previous results, and will doubtless add to the knowledge of Mexican antiquities. From other quarters also collec- tions are coming in. ‘From the old Caddoe region of northeastern Texas comes a valuable collection of artistically decorated pottery ; from Imbabura, a province in Ecua- much dor, a collection of antiquities do- nated by the Duke of Loubat, which will supplement well the rial gathered from the neighbor- i The collections of antiquities from Peru will be greatly augmented by the mate- regions of Colombia. ing un superb recently acquired Gaffron collection, which is especially rich in textile fabrics, in featherwork, in gold, silver, copper, and wood carv- ings, and in pottery. This and other South American material illustra- tive of the ancient civilizations is now exhibited in the West Gallery. The Museura explorations in Peru and Bolivia,which’ :veyielded much of this material, are in charge of Dr. Bandelier; they were begun in 1892 under the patronage of Mr. Henry Villard, and since April, 1894, have been continued by the Trustees of the Museum. Dr. Bandelier is now on his way from Peru for the pur- pose of preparing the results of his researches for publication. THe hall illustrating the ancient civilizations of South America and the new Ethnological Hall of the West Wing were formally opened on October 30th. The South Ameri- ‘an collections are particularly rich in material from Peru and Bolivia, some of which is remarkable for its beauty and rarity. Other import- ant collections exhibited in this Hall are from the mouth of the Ama- zon and from Colombia. The new Ethnological Hall contains the col- lections from the Indians of the Plains and from northern Mexico, the Eskimo, the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and from African tribes. Te AM HR CaN \ [ USLUM JOURNAL F.LEBLANC 3 A TRILOBITE (LICHAS BOLTONI), IN THE HALL COLLECTION. By courtesy of the Century.* THE HALL GEOLOGICAL COLLECTION. =)JHE Hall collection of fossils is one of the unique and invalua- ble possessions of the American Museum. Its value cannot be overestimated, and as long as it remains within the walls of this institution it will attract to it the student of geology and the investigator of the ancient and now extinct forms of life. It was col- lected by Prof. James Hall in his geological studies in New York and other States, and has a historical in- terest associated with its extreme scientific importance. The New York Survey, inaugu- rated in 1836, marked an era in the history of geological science in this country, and yielded large contribu- tions to natural history as well. Oc- curring at a period when scientific, rational, and comprehensive princi- ples were being applied to the sci- ence, it availed itself of the great advances made in the study by the * This fine woodcut appeared in the Century of August, 1882. 57 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOUERNAE labors of Sedgwick, Murchison, De la Béche, Bishop, Portlock, and Philips in stratigraphy, and of the work of Agassiz, Lonsdale, Sowerby, McCoy, De Verneuil, De Keyserling, Eich- wald, Davidson, and others; and it appropriated whatever had _ previ- ously survived the test of criticism and observation from the surveys in this country of McClure and Eaton. But it was itself the source of most original observations ; it was made upon new ground, and it sup- pled a wealth of material in pale- ontological data unequalled by any similar survey in the world, as well as the rationale of the earlier forma- tions. It demonstrated the exist- ence in this State of a series of the oldest formations, whose parallel, in the regularity of their succession and the clearness of their demarea- tion and limits, could nowhere else be found. Previously the contradictory la- bors of various Europeans, and the more conscientious efforts of Profes- sor Eaton, had been based upon a that the rocks of Kurope should have their exact analogies in those of this country,—a fatal error which vitiated their results and clouded their rea- sonings. misleading presumption A somewhat narrow and rigid application of continental or English standards, in which three classes of rocks, the primitive, trans- itional, and secondary, figured, led to d 58 a grouping whereby, even according to the perspicacious estimates of Professor Eaton, the coal measures were brought within the limits of the State, and the western rocks lifted above their natural plane and made to occupy the enforced position of secondary strata, instead of being shown to be the best exposure of palzeozoic rocks known anywhere. According to the system for the division of labor on the Survey, the western parts of the State were allotted to Lardner Vanuxem, the central portions were given to T. A. Conrad, New York _ island, Long Island, and the Hudson river to Lieutenant Mather, and the Adir- ondacks to Dr. Ebenezer Emmons. The monotonous regularity of the strata of the western parts of the State repelled the eruptive and catas- trophic geological notions of the day, although actually forming the best and most instructive standard for the disentanglement of more complex formations. Professor Van- uxem consequently willingly sur- rendered hissection to Professor Hall, at that time a young man. Mr. Conrad became paleontologist of the Survey, and Professor Vanuxem succeeded to Mr. Conrad’s charge. Professor Hall’s attentive exami- nation of his unattractive region revealed to him its geological im- a key whereby he might solve the problems of geolog- portance as PoE AMERICAN MUSEUM: LOURNAL ical sequence throughout the conti- nent. His provisional tabulation of the fossils enclosed in these strata afforded him a succinct rule whereby he could measure the succession and establish the character of distant formations. With Professor Van- uxem he slowly compiled a new table of formations, energetically estab- lished analogies with it in other States by personal observation or through correspondence, and finally brought it to the test of public criticism. Professor Hall gradually passed into the Directorship of the Survey, and issued a constant ports, memoirs, papers, and volumes, covering not only the work proper to the New York Survey, but a va- riety of similar work for Iowa, Wis- consin, and Canada. In later years Prof. R. P. Whitfield became asso- ciated with Professor Hall, and left indelible marks of his artistic pre- cision and zoélogical instinct upon the work of the Survey. Professor Hall possessed unusual opportunities for collecting, at a time when the field was unworked and the accumulated detritus of years lay untouched along the base of cliff and hillside. Industrial en- terprises of considerable magnitude, as the opening of the Erie Canal, were being started, and the neces- sary diggings afforded him new chances to collect fine and well- stream of re- a9 marked specimens. He appeared at a time when the first-fruits, both of material and fame, were within the grasp of an enthusiastic and ac- complished student. His private cabinet contained hundreds of type forms, and collateral investigation in other States added rare and _ sur- prising beauties. It was a reservoir into which the whole watershed of geological exploration at that day poured its first and richest streams. His collection became an object of envy amongst collectors, and was coveted by the institutions of Its purchase by the ‘Trus- tees of the American Museum was Europe. an event of great significance in giving scientific character to the miscellaneous groups of fossils pre- viously secured by them or occa- sionally donated. The collection is now exhibited in the large Hall of Geology on the fourth floor of the first section of the Museum, a post- tion given to it when first received, and since retained by it. The Hall abounds in striking ob- jects: slabs of sandstone from an an- cient seashore pitted with small shells past which fine lines and microscopic ridges sweep as though just traced by a retiring wave, nests of quaint trilobites gathered together in graph- ic groups as they were buried upon the old sea-bottom, ripples crystal- lized in rigid bars of quartzite, corals clustering in antler-like bunches THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURSAG torn from the reefs of pre-adamite oceans, long “ straight horns,”— the shelly encasements of extinct devil- fish,— innumerable shells, plants, sponges, and exquisite stone lilies (crinoids), whose sculptured calyces are like toy-boxes and their tressy arms like the fringes of a tassel. In the profusion of invertebrate forms from Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous seas there is a great wealth of curious types. It is as if the bottoms of pre-adamite oceans had been hardened, broken into fragments, and laid out on shelves, exposing the life that flourished upon them. The judgment of the old philosophers who saw in these simulacra of living things only the exuberant creations of a “ lapidify- ing juice ” is to-day reversed. They are the sign-manuals, the cartouches of the ages. L. P. Graracap. Tue big sturgeon (_Accipenser stu- rio) from the New York Aquarium is ready for exhibition. The fish weighed 196 pounds. SEVEN white sheep ( Ovis dalli ) of Alaska have been received from Mr. Stone of the Constable Expedition. They will be mounted in a group. A COLLECTION of photographs from nature of the nests of birds found breeding within 50 miles of New York City has been added to the local collection of birds. 60 PROGRESS OF THE JESUP NORTH PACIFIC EXPE- DITION. jURING the present year the Jesup North Pacific Expedition has made material progress. On the American side a number of parties have been in the field. Dr. Living- ston Farrand has continued his work among the tribes of the west coast of the State of Washington, which was commenced two years ago. This region is very inaccessible, and the tribes living there are still in a comparatively primitive condition. The most interesting problem to be solved in this area refers to the af.- finities of the Quillayute, a small tribe inhabiting only two villages. Their language differs fundamen- tally from all the languages of that whole district. In former times another community speaking the same language lived on Puget Sound, but has since become ex- tinct. Dr. Farrand’s collections ex- hibit clearly the close relationship in type between these Indians and their northern and southern neigh- bors, while in their customs they resemble the people of the west coast of Vancouver Island. They are particularly remarkable on ac- count of their daring whaling expe- ditions. They attack the whale in THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL their open boats with their primi tive weapons, a full set of which was brought to the Museum by Dr. Farrand. So far, no affiliation of their language with other languages of the Pacific coast has been dis- covered, but no definite conclusion in regard to this subject can be drawn until the copious notes col- lected by Dr. Farrand have been fully worked up. In the interior of British Colum- bia Mr. James Teit continued his work for the expedition. He ex- tended his investigations among the tribes of the upper course of Fraser River, who evidently transmitted at one time much of the culture of the western tribes of North America to their neighbors on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and who for this rea- son are of particular interest to the expedition. It was one of the special objects of Mr. Teit’s investigations to collect a full series of baskets from this region. These baskets are remarkable on account of their beautiful designs, all of which are conventionalized representations of realistic subjects. Mr. Teit has successfully accomplished this task ; and his collection, together with two others obtained by Dr. Far- rand, place the Museum in pos- session of a series of basketry made by the tribes from the most northern part of British Columbia, southward to Columbia River. . 61 On Vancouver Island Dr. Franz Boas continued his previous re- searches. In former years he had gathered a considerable body of in- formation on the tribes of this area; but the knowledge of their Jan- guage, which is necessary for a full understanding of the material here- tofore collected, was still deficient. He succeeded in obtaining a large collection of the early traditions of the people in the native tongue, which collection will not only be of great scientific interest, but is also of special value to the Mu- because all these tales are seum, explanatory of specimens — previ- ously procured. The industries and manufactures of the people received their due share of atten- tion, and among the interesting re- sults of the investigation was the discovery of primitive methods of agriculture. It was also found that the property rights of the peo- ple in land and in fishing-grounds are very well defined. Each family owns a certain stretch of beach on which they dig clams, hillsides on which they gather ber- ries, streams in which they obtain their salmon, and fishing-banks on the high seas from which they pro- cure their halibut. They are most remarkable for the high develop- ment of their art of wood-working, and it is beleved that a complete series of specimens illustrating this THE AMERICAN MUSED i- Oe tea industry has been obtained for the Museum. Among the specimens collected in this area are also a series of very good old masks and carvy- ings, which supplement the large collections of the Museum in im- portant lines. The investigations of the expedi- tion during the previous years show that in the development of the culture of the Pacific coast the tribes of Vancouver Island been most influential. have During the present year investiga- tions were also commenced on Queen Charlotte Islands in the portion of British Columbia, and the expeditions sent to Arctic Siberia under the leadership of Mr. Walde- mar Jochelson northern have reached their field of work, but reports from these parties cannot be expected until EB: the coming year. THE MUSEUM SPECIMEN OF THE GREAT ANT-EATER, MYRMECOPHAGA $UBATA. sf) HE New York Zodlogi- Dl! = cal Society has re- cently given to the Museum a specimen of the Great Ant- Unfortunately the skin was a condition fit for mount- eater. not in ing, but the valuable skeleton was preserved. By purchase, however, the Museum has secured a nearly similar skin which is now mounted and on exhibition in the Gallery of the East Wing. Including the remarkable bushy tail the specimen measures six feet eight inches in length, and is twenty- three inches in height at the shoul- Its prevailing color is dark gray, with a broad, tapering black ders. THE MOUNTED SPECIMEN OF THE GREAT ANT-EATER. 62 aoe AOM By Ral CrAcN MUSEUM JOURNAL band bordered with white running from the front of the shoulders ob- liquely over the back. The Ant Bear frequents the low, swampy savannas along the banks of rivers, and the depths of the humid tropical forests of South and Central America. Its food consists mainly of “ white ants” or termites, to obtain which it digs into their great conical nests with its sickle-like anterior claws, and as the insects swarm to the defence of their dwelling it draws them into the long tubular mouth by means of the writhing, sticky, whip-like tongue. The skeletal characters of the Ant Bear are not less striking. The skull is extraordinarily elongated and tapering ; in the back bone, hip and shoulder girdles, and “club- footed ” feet it resembles the enor- mous extinct Megatheres or Ground Sloths of South America, while in other respects it is related to the strange Tree Sloths. The Great Ant-eater is in facta member of the mammalian order Edentata, which also includes the shield-bearing Ar- madillos and extinct Glyptodons of South America, the Pangolins or Sealy Ant-eaters of Asia and Africa, and the aberrant Aard-Vaark or Cape Ant-eater of South Africa, Although these grotesque creatures seem so unlike each other, discovery of their fossil relatives is slowly clearing up their divergent evolution from a common stock. iw. K. G. 63 A GUIDE TO THE: ETHNO- LOGICAL COLLECTIONS PROM SE NORTE. eA: CIFIC COAST OF AMERICA. aa HE ethnological mate- rial in Hall 105 is so extensive and diverse that many visitors get only confused ideas of the tribes therein illustrated. The small guide-book recently issued will supplement the very intelligible grouping and labelling of the speci- mens and tend to unify the visitors’ impressions. The brief index is followed by an outline map showing the location of the tribes, and by an exposition{of the general exhibit illustrating the fundamental traits of the culture of the North Pacific coast. The in- dustries, household utensils, and clothing are taken up case by case, and then the social, esthetic, and ethical phases of the culture. The individual tribes are then treated in detail, and finally the prehistoric tribes. The sentences are brief but coher- ent, easily read as one passes from case tocase. On every double page is the small plan showing the ar- rangement and numbering of the eases. For detailed information, references are given to the Museum publications. The guide will begiven to those asking for it. Ww.K.G. EE) AUN rs Cee MUSEUM JOURNAL RESEARCHES RELATING TO of a primitive home. Amid un- INDIAN REMAINS NEW YORK. IN RY and dingy seem the {| isolated fragments of bone implements, of human and = animal bones, of crude pot- tery and what not, that one often sees carefully guarded as “ curios.” It must be conceded that in them- selves, to the mind of normal tastes, such things lack interest as well as beauty. Nevertheless material quite similar, if gathered by an accurate takes careful field notes, may yield, as the result of strict inference, facts that from both the human and scientific view-points observer who appeal strongly to the imagination. This applies well to the Indian antiquities gathered for the Mu- seum by Mr. Harrington at Throges Neck, Port Washington, and other places around New York. explorations were begun last year with the financial assistance of Mr. Theodore Cooper and Mr. William R. Warren. the customs and physical character- istics of the Indians that dwelt here before the coming of Hendrik Hud- son. At many places these vanished These The object is to show peoples had left traces,—shell-heaps, accumulated through the passing centuries, and sometimes a buried hearth or “ fire-hole,” once the focus 64 important rubbish, these contained such things as bone implements for sewing buckskin, fragments of pottery and pipes, weapons, and household utensils; also parts of the skeletons of wild animals and of domesticated dogs. At Port Wash- ington, Long Island, the ancient graves contained skeletons that were bent up in a crouching posi- tion, a burial-custom widely ob- served. Except in the upper layers of the shell-heaps there was absolutely no trace of European influence. The lowermost strata, on the contrary, contained, at Throggs Neck, crude and much-weathered argillite imple- ments of very ancient pattern,—in fact, similar to those collected for the Museum by Mr. Volk in the later glacial deposits at Trenton. Other very ancient found five feet below the present remains were floor-level in several old rock-shelters at Armonck. Enough is already known to prove that these people were Algonquins, akin to the tribes that in King Philip’s time caused New England- Their culture, however, showed some Iroquois in- ers disquietude. fluence. It is important that no time should be lost in exploring all such ancient Indian sites, as they are being rapidly destroyed. American Museum Journal Volume I DECEMBER, 1900 Number 5 NOTES AND NEWS. Museum Searcu For Fossr. VeEr- TEBRATES IN THE West.—The fishes, batrachians, reptiles, and mammals that were evolved during successive geological periods have left their fossil remains in the West in such considerable quantities that the field parties sent out by the Museum in successive years have secured many Upon this ma- based earloads of fossils. terial have been important contributions to knowledge of the history of life. From the expeditions of the sum- mer and fall of 1900 been received fourteen large boxes humerous our there have of mammalian fossils from the Plio- cene and Miocene of Texas, one car- load of Dinosaur remains from the Jurassic beds of Wyoming, nearly a earload from the Laramie or Upper Cretaceous of South Dakota, inelud- ing skeletons of a great carnivorous Dinosaur and of a herbivorous D1- nosaur of iguanodont type. This material is now being cautiously taken out from the matrix, and it is fascinating to watch the gradual seulpturing out of some rare “medal of creation.” While this note is in press they are bringing to light the slight arches and framework of the skull of a reptile, apparently a very primitive lizard hitherto unknown. Girt rRoM THE ZoéLoeicaL So- clery.— An important recent gift from the New York Zodlogical So- ciety includes the following animals: A young Moose (Alces americanus), an Equine Deer (Cervus equinus), an Orang utan (Simia satyrus), a Loris (Nycticebus turdigradus), au Ocelot (Felis pardalis), three Bay Lynxes (Lynx ruffus), a Jaguarondi (Felis yaguarond:), two Black Leop- ards ( Felis pardus), a Raccoon (Pro- cyon lotor). A STRANGE SPECIMEN has been presented to the Museum by Dr. Joseph Y. Mangoun, strange, not in itself, but because it was found where other queer things will no doubt turn up,—the rapid transit subway. It is an Iguana or large lizard, and was found alive in the excavation at 59th Street; it had evidently escaped from captivity. THE NEW EXCAVATIONS are also being taken advantage of by the Geological Department, which is trying to secure whatever of interest may be unearthed in them. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL PAPILIO MEROPE, MALE. DANAUS CHRYSIPPUS. Recent Girts or ButTreRFLIES AND Morus.—There are compara- tively few species of Lepidoptera that do not display either some pe- culiar excellence of outline, or strik- ing pattern of spots and streaks, or glowing symphony of rich, deep colors ; but, even among these bright and wingéd hosts, the beauty of the specimens recently acquired by the Museum is of high rank. 66 PAPILIO MEROPE, FEMALE. HYPOLIMNAS MISIPPUS, FEMALE. The collection was presented by Mr. William Sachs, of Hoboken, N. J., and contains about three hun- dred specimens, many of them rare Our illus- tration shows the male and female of Papilio merope from Natal, Africa ; the female contrasts sharply with the male, mimicking closely both in form and markings the female of /Zy- polimnas misippus and both sexes or of peculiar interest. fet AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL of Danaus chrysippus of the same region, two species belonging to entirely different genera and fami- lies. Another remarkable species represented in the collection is Pa- pilio memnon; the male is dark with black and blue streaks, the females present two well-marked varieties with many intermediate forms. Variety (1) has tailpieces on the hind wings, variety (2) has no tailpieces and is of entirely different coloration. Very glowing and beau- tiful in color and shape are the speci- mens of Papilio cobn from the Malay Islands, 7einopalpus imperialis, Pa- pilio peranthus and Papilio buddha from India. The collection will shortly be placed on view. Retations or THE MusEum ‘0 THE AtvpuBON Socrery.—Twenty- two State Audubon Societies have now been organized with a total membership of over 50,000. Prom- inent among them is the New York State Audubon Society, which owes its existence largely to the support and encouragement its originators have received from Mr. Morris K. Jesup, who has served as its presi- dent since its formation in Febru- ary, 1897. The Museum is further represented in the executive board of the Society by the Curator and Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Zodlogy, whose assistance in prepar- ing leaflets relative to the eco- 67 nomic and educational value of birds and to their wanton destruc- tion, has rendered the publications of the Society authoritative, and hence much in demand by other branches. In addition to distributing many thousand leaflets of this nature the Society aims to inform the public concerning the bird laws of the State by sending annually a poster containing an abstract of the law to each of the 4000 post-offices in the State with a request to the post- master to display it ina suitable po- sition. In this connection, it shouid be added that the existing law has been greatly strengthened through an amendment introduced into the legislature at the instigation of the New York Society. The executive committee of the Society meets twice each month, from October to June, at the Mu- seum, and the annual meetings of the Society are held in the Muse- um’s large lecture hall. SyLLaBus oF THE Museum Lec- TURES ON Brrps.—Bird students who were unable to attend Mr. Frank M. Chapman’s course of lectures on ‘Birds in Nature, given at the Museum Saturday afternoons from November 10th to December 15th, will doubtless be interested in the appended brief syllabus of the Course: fl Ws RD AMERICAN MUSH UM JOU ieee 1. Relation of Bird to Man ; the felations of Man to Lirds.—Treat- ing, first, of the economic value of birds through the services they ren- der in preventing the undue in- crease of insects, in devouring the seeds of noxious plants, in destroy. ing harmful rodents, and in acting Second, of the his- tory of man’s relation to birds from what may be conceived to be their earliest connection to the present time, with the object of ascertaining in what way or ways the human race may derive the greatest benefit from birds. 2. Distribution and Migration of Birds,—Geographical distribution ; Migration a factor in distribution; origin as Scavengers. seasonal distribution. as of migration, manner, and times of migration. 3. Birds’ Nests—The influences governing the selection of the site and character of the nest. 4. The Kggs and Young Birds. —Number, size, and colors of eggs. Development, physical and mental, of the young birds. 5. Habit and Structure of Birds. —Form and functions of the wings, feet, tail, and bill. 6. Colors of Birds.—Causes of color; color and age, color and sea- son, color and food, color and cli- mate. deceptive, and signalling color and sex. Uses of color; protective, colors, The lectures were elaborately 1l- lustrated with colored slides, most of which were made from nature and were therefore in the highest degree instructive. Tuer wispom of the City of New York in providing the new and en- larged auditorium is demonstrated by the very large increase in attend- ance at the lectures, as shown in the following figures for three of the lectures on the Paris Exposition : Attendance in 1899: November 25th 3-33 ee 763 Thanksgiving Day 72 Smee 800 December 2d... 233 eee 576 Total for’ 3 lectinecseeee 9139 Attendance in 1900 : November 24th: >. eee 1098 Thanksgiving Day... eee 1096 December ist... ..222 eee 952 3146, an increase of 50 per cent. over last year. The educational investment evidently a profitable one. is Mr. Jonn L. CADWALADER has re- cently presented to the Museum a valuable and interesting hybrid be- tween the Red Grouse (Lagopus scoticus) and Black Cock (Lyurus tetrix), which was killed in a grouse drive while flying in a pack of grouse at Millden in Forfarshire, Scotland. The bird is a male and presents THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL as = g . ats he On ‘ En Wes HYBRID BETWEEN BLACK COCK AND RED GROUSE. characters of both the male and the tions of the back, rump, and upper female Black Cock, and also of the tail-coverts more nearly agree with male Red Grouse. Inthe main, how- those of the male Red Grouse. The ever, it more closely resembles the wing-coverts are peculiarly marked Black Cock, with which it agrees in with numerous terminal white bars size, the prevailing color above and and cuneate tips present in neither below being black. The back and of the presumed parents. A rufous sides of the neck, however, are collar occupies the throat and the barred with rufous and black, as in’ black abdominal feathers are more the female Black Cock, or Gray Hen, or less tinged with rufous and _ter- but the rufous and white vermicula- minally barred with white. The 69 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAE tarsi and basal third of the toes are feathered more as in the Red Grouse, but in color are grayish finely barred with black. The hind-toe is small and the nail elongated, as in the Red Grouse. ‘The under tail-coverts are white, and the tail is black, as in the Black Cock; the outer feathers of the latter, however, lack the eminently characteristic lengthening and out- ward curving of that species. While hybrids of this nature have been recorded on several previous occasions they are exceedingly rare, and the specimen above described is doubtless the only one of the kind in this country. BME. SOME OF THE COLLECTIONS IN THE GEOLOGICAL DE. PARTMENT OF THE MU.- SEUM.* ===], HE first valuable se- FC HH «ries of fossils to be acquired by the Amer- ican Museum of Nat- ural History was the Holmes collection from the Tertiary deposits of South Carolina. This included the types of the species described in Tuomey and Holmes’s works. + The second important series which was obtained was the set of elght mounted skeletons of moas *Part of a paper read before Section E of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, June 26, 1900. Reprinted from ‘‘Science * November 16, 1900, with some alterations. 7° from New Zealand, constituting one of the best of the J. von Haast series of those birds. There are eight unmounted skeletons in the same collection, thirteen species being represented in all. The main portion of the depart- ment’s specimens is composed of the James Hall collection, the aequisi- tion of which in 1875 placed the Museum in the lead among American institutions in respect to Paleozoic fossils, on account of the great num- ber of types and figured specimens contained therein, such specimens being numbered by the thousand. These specimens were described for the most part in the reports of the State geological surveys of New York, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Especially noteworthy in the Hall collection, aside from the wonder- fully rich New York series, are the Potsdam fossils from Minnesota and Wisconsin; Trenton forms from Wisconsin and lowa, the unfigured types of which have been republished by Professor R. P. Whitfield with fig- ures in the Memoirs of the Museum ; Niagara fossils from Waldron, Indi- ana; corals from the falls of the Ohio River; crinoids from Burlington, Iowa, and the remarkable Lower Carboniferous fauna of Spergen Hill, +** Pleiocene Fossils of South Carolina,” by M. Tuomey and F.S. Holmes. 4to. Charleston, S. C., 1857; ‘‘Post-Pleiocene Fossils of South Carolina,” by F. S. Holmes. 4to. Charleston, S. C., 1860. 5 THER AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL Indiana, both of which last have been republished by Professor Whitfield with figures from the original types, the former in the Memoirs and the latter in the Bulletin of the Museum. Other collections which may be mentioned are the Chazy and Fort Cassin fossils from the vicinity of Lake Champlain, containing types which have been described by Pro- fessor Whitfield in the Bulletin of the Museum; a complete set of the Vermont and New Hampshire rocks illustrating the geological survey of those States by Professor C. H. Hitchcock, and the types of the Ter- tiary plants from Brandon, Vermont; an excellent series of Paleozoic fos- sils from [linois and neighboring States; a large series of unusually fine fossil corals and other forms from the Schoharie Grit of Orange county, New York, which were pre- sented to the Museum by Mr. D. Jackson Steward; corals of Lower Devonian (Upper Helderberg) age from the beds at the falls of the Ohio River, near Louisville, Ky. ; fossils from the Cretaceous marls of New Jersey, collected and presented to the Museum by Professor Whit- field, and fine sets of fish remains from the Triassic of the Connecticut valley and the Tertiary beds of Wyoming. The most recent note- worthy addition is one of the Tyr-. rell collections of placoderm fishes from the Devonian rocks of Ohio. 71 The arrangement of the collection is that devised by Professor Whit- field when he came to the Museum, and it is worthy of careful considera- tion on account of the way it has stood the test of time and use. Be- ginning at the northeast corner of the hall (because that is beside what was originally the only entrance to the room and was understood to be the permanent main entrance there- to) the specimens are arranged strati- graphically in ascending geological Under the stratigraphic ar- rangement, the grouping is by geo- graphical or lithological provinces, first New York, or eastern and then western. Under this again the ar- rangement is strictly biological, be- ginning with plants, where present, and then taking the animals in This scheme has order, ascending scale. been carried out most definitely in the upright cases, while the desk cases contain many of the best speci- mens and fit into the classification as well as is practicable. A part of each of twelve of the desk cases is occupied by specimens comprising the Dana’s Manual series. These illustrate the figures in that standard work on geology and form an epit- ome of the historical side of the science. Many of the figures are represented by the very specimens from which the originals were drawn. Large specimens showing ripple marks, footprints, concretions, THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOU Ree and other phenomena are placed on the tops of the cases and in other places out of series. A very valuable feature of the installation is that of separating the biological units from one another so that the individuals, species, genera, families, ete., which belong together can be distinguished on the most rapid inspection. This is ef- fected by means of narrow strips of wood of different colors placed between the trays holding the fossils, single black strips separat- different species, red ones white ones families, two ing genera, white ones limiting orders, and two black denoting the boundaries of classes and higher subdivisions. The specimens, furthermore, are arranged so that one naturally examines them from left to mght and from below upwards, except that the upper shelves of the upright cases are oc- cupied by large and smal] specimens showing the grouping of the fossils in the rocks and the geological feat- ures of the beds. More than nine- tenths of the hall is devoted to the American forms, the rest being given up to a synoptic series of European fossils and fossils from other foreign localities. Epmunp O. Hovey. Visrrors to the Mexican Hall will be interested in the folder on the Archeology of Mexico and Central | America, which the attendants will give to those who ask for it. It is a brief guide to the collections, and also gives an idea of the principal explorations and researches relating to this subject which have been un- dertaken by the American Museum and others; in brief, it contains im- portant general information on a subject little known to the public. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: NOTES. aq HE following extract Hy © from the speech at the opening of the new auditorium by Hon. Charles R. Skinner, State Superintendent of Public In- struction, will be of interest in con- nection with the progress of the Mu- seum system of visual instruction : **Since the Museum became connected with the State Department Dr. Bickmore has prepared nearly two hundred lec- tures * covering all phases of Education, Travel, History, Biography, Science ; and these lectures have been repeated in every portion of the State. Nearly 20,000 dif- ferent slides (stereopticon views) have been presented. We are familiar with the growth of this system through in- quiries which reach our State Department * From Professor Bickmore’s annual report recently submitted to the educational author- ities of the State we take the following extract : “The number of lectures prepared under the auspices of the State Department of Public In- struction up to January 1, 1901, will be three hundred and fifty-four upon one hundred and eighty-seven different subjects.” —Epp. fae AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL A REPRESENTATIVE VIEW FROM THE LECTURES ON THE PARIS EXPOSITION. and which daily reach Dr. Bickmore in this Museum. Inquiries come from every county in the State, from smaller schools that are not entitled to these privileges, begging that it be extended. From every State in the Union come requests from State superintendents of public instrue- tion, asking how they may secure the advantages of this system. From many nations come inquiries of the same na- ture, and I was shown a very interesting letter of inquiry from India, where the very purpose which this education serves here was presented as an educational in- fluence upon the people of that country.” THE FOLLOWING LETTER is being sentout by the Department of Public Instruction in response to numerous letters from various parts of our country ; “DEAR Sir: 5S Enquiries having been received from educators in many parts of our country regarding our system of Visual Instruc- tion, and the terms upon which our slides may be procured, the following informa- tion is given in reply : We are not dealers in slides, but we are desirous of promoting free public educa- tion throughout our land by means of ilustrated teaching ; and the State Super- intendent of Public Instruction of the State of New York, under whose auspices our entire system is carried on, has given us authority to supply, as a matter of interstate courtesy, the Superintendent of Public Instruction of each other THE AMERICAN MU SHUM SO Raia Commonwealth with one series, and no more, of our slides at cost, after we have finished the work which is required of us by the statutes of our own State. We do not keep a stock of slides on hand but fill each order separately, hence considerable time must elapse before a shipment can be made, and we can only undertake the preparation of such illustrations between May Ist and September Ist. Each lecture is sold complete and not a selection of slides therefrom. The conditions under which this prop- erty must be used are set forth in the circular of the State Superintendent placed herein, and we desire to call your special attention to the following rule : ‘In no case shall the use of said appa- ratus be permitted at any lecture where an admission fee shall be charged, or which shall be in connection with any other entertainment of any nature, or for the benefit of any Private School, Church, Sunday School, Hospital, or any purpose the Free Common given not connected with Schools of the State.’ No copies in any form may be made from our manuscripts or slides. The lectures above terms, are: Lecture No. 184, Manhattan Island and Highlands of the Hudson, 75 slides, all colored except one $69.20 Lecture No. 185, The Catskills and the Adirondacks, 73 slides, ad/ colored. $64.55 Lecture No. 186, The Lakes os Central New York and Erie Canal, 75 slides, all colored except two. $65.25 Lecture No. 187, Niagara Falls, 88 slides, all colored except eleven. $75.65 now available upon the Lecture No. 188, Connecticut Valley and the White Monmtnines 75 slides, all colored except four. $66.55 Lecture No. 189, Coast of New England 74 and St. Lawrence River, 72 slides, all colored except two $65.40 Lecture No. 190, Penna., Virginia, and District of Columbia, 74 slides, all colored except twelve. . $62.10 Lecture No. 191, Mississippi Valley and the Southern States, 73 slides, all colored except six, ‘ . $61.85 Lecture No. 192, Rowe Mountains and the Great Basin, 72 slides, all colored except four. : , $61.70 Lecture No. 193, The Yellowstone Na- tional Park, 74 slides, all colored at one. ; $67.2 Lecture No. 195, Californie and the Yp- semite Valley, 72 slides, all colored except three. : ; $64.50 Lecture No. 196, Mexien 73 slides, all colored except two. $66.25 Lecture No. 197, West Indies—The Les- ser Antilles, 72 slides, all colored except three. : $63.35 Lecture No. LO7B.¢ sata Havana, and San- tiago, 72 slides, all colored except three. : , $64.50 Lecture No. 197C, Jamaica and Porto Rico, 73 slides, a// colored. $65.70 Lecture No. 199, Egypt, 72 slides, all colored except six. $63.00 Lecture No. 202, Greece, 72 didas all colored except seventeen. “ $58.70 Lecture No. 203, Italy, 73 slides, all colored except six. , ; $64.95 Lecture No. 235, The Philippines, 72 slides, all colored except one. $65.50 Y2Q ws Lecture No. The Hawaiian Islands (Series A), 72 slides, a// colored. $66.00 Kindergarten and Primary Instruction (Series A) see all colored, $63.70 Our Native Birds, 72 slides, a// colored. $66.00 A>) (28 As we supply the above lectures at cost and thereby enjoy the privilege of being co-workers with the educators who use the results of our labors, we expect that EHE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL a clear recognition of our assistance will be made when our illustrated instruction is repeated ; and we request that a full record be kept of the locality, the topic, the name of the lecturer, and the charac- ter and numbers of each audience, and that these data be forwarded tous on the first day of October of each year, in order that we may include the more important parts of them in our Annual Report to our State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Further information will be given if desired. Respectfully yours, ALBERT S. BickMORE, Curator.” (Signed) In the foregoing circular, which has been approved by the Commit- tee on Advice, each ordinary slide is placed at an estimated cost of thirty-five cents in order to provide for packing and postage and also leave a margin for other incidentals. For coloring, the charge, as shown in the above figures, is fifty cents each, which is precisely what the Department pays, except for espe- cially difficult work. The market price of a colored slide is at least $1.25, so that the limited number of officials in other States and countries who are thus aided, only pay two-thirds of the regular rate, and the Department is therefore, in reality, a co-worker in the promotion of free public educa- tion with all who repeat our lectures in every land. 75 NEW INDIAN COLLECTIONS FROM CALIFORNIA AND OREGON. esa URING the last two s or cey@ years the Museum has carried on import- ant work among the Indian tribes of North America. Many of these are on the verge of extinction, and little is known of their appearance, of their customs, or of their industries. A number of friends of the Museum have provided the means for mak- ing collections among them; in this manner a number of important made to the Anthropological Department. The late Mr. C. P. Huntington enabled the Museum to carry on work of this character among the additions have been vanishing tribes of California. The Indians of that State are particularly remarkable on account of the enor- mous diversity of their languages, customs, and appearance. Particu- larly is this true of the tribes inhabit- ing the foothills of the Sierra. The tribes of this region are much scat- tered. Many of them live on small ranches in earth-covered lodges, while others occupy log cabins or rude houses built of lumber. They make beautiful basketry, which in recent years has excited the interest of collectors on account of its fine workmanship and design. TH EA MOE PCAN MUSEUM (FOURS Ak HUT OF MAIDU INDIAN. The work of the Museum has been directed principally toward a study of the Maidu Indians, who inhabit the region east of Sacramento River. During the last two years, Mr. Roland B. Dixon has spent much time among this tribe,and has sent tothe Museum a very full collection exhibiting the industries of the people. He has also succeeded in unravelling the significance of the curious designs with which the baskets are orna- mented. flowers, The patterns represent mountains and_ valleys, stone arrow-points, feathers, fish- teeth, etc. Without the help of the Indians, it would be impossible to interpret the significance of these 70 designs, which consist largely of tri- angles and other geometrical figures. These researches have shown that the Maidu, who at one time occu- pied a considerable territory, were subdivided into a great many groups, each of which spoke a dialect of its own, so that intercom- munication between the people in- habiting the different valleys of the Sierra was made very difficult. Not- withstanding their primitive mode of life, they possess a wonderful store of interesting tales and tradi- tions, in which they account for the origin of the world, for the creation of land and water, of mountains and valleys. It would seem that these Tee SAC BRE CAN N rseuM TOUR N AL INDIAN BAGS AND BASKETS FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. tales, many of which compare favor- ably with the mythology of an- tiquity, spread from tribe to tribe all over California, no matter how different the languages spoken by the natives. Mr. Dixon has also collected for the Museum a full series of photo- graphs of these Indians, and supple- mented them by a number of plaster casts of faces, which gives an ex- cellent permanent record of the peculiar appearance of the tribe. Another important collection re- si ~~ cently obtained by the Museum was also made in connection with inves- tigations among the vanishing tribes of our continent, the means being contributed by the late Mr. Henry Villard. of Oregon was the home of a multitude of tribes, almost all of They have been gathered on two reser- vations, but are rapidly being re- In former times the coast which are fast disappearing. duced in number, owing to a very high mortality among both children and adults. One of these tribes, the THE AMERICAN MUSEUM J00 5A Alsea, occupied at one time an im- portant position. They held a large stretch of territory just south of the mouth of Columbia River. Our only knowledge of this tribe is based on information obtained by the members of the famous Wilkes Ex- pedition, which collected informa- tion on the northwest coast of our continent about 1840. At the pres- ent time they are reduced to a mere handful, and their old customs can be learned only by questioning the few old people that survive. The most important question that had to be solved in this region was that of the affilations of this people. It was not known whether they were re- lated to the tribes of Washington or to those of California. Dr. Living- ston Farrand spent the past summer among the remnants of this people ; and he found that in language, as well as in appearance and in cus- toms, they must be classed with the tribes of the State of Washington. They are the most southern people on the Pacifie coast who are in the habit of deforming their heads by artificial means. A cushion made of bark is placed on the forehead of the infant and held down firmly. By this means the growth of the head is much influenced, so that the forehead recedes and assumes a very flat shape. This curious custom ex- tends from the Alsea northward towards the central part of British ~~ (oe) Columbia. In former times it was found in many parts of the world, —in the Mississippi basin, in the western part of South America, in Central Europe, and in many other places. While Dr. Farrand found only a few specimens that remained from ancient times, when the tribe was more powerful, he was more suc- cessful a little farther inland, where, on the banks of the Columbia River, he brought together much material illustrating the early culture of the people. Here also is made beauti- ful basketry, although of a type dif- ferent from that found in California. Here too we find geometrical designs intended to represent real objects, such as birds and mammals. Some of the utensils of the people show clearly that the culture of the In- dians of the Plains has influenced them. Evidently this was due to the ease with which the Pacific coast is reached along the course of Colum- bia River. In olden times the trade from tribe to tribe must have ex- tended across the plateaus and down Columbia River. The Museum is deeply indebted to both Mr. Huntington and Mr. Villard in many ways. In earlier years Mr. Huntington donated a valuable African collection. Mr. Villard showed his interest in the Museum on many occasions. He supported Dr. Lumholtz during the early years of his expedition to Mex- PTh AMERICAN MUSEUM. JOURNAL ico and Dr. Bandelier in his work for the Museum in Peru. The latest ser- vice to the institution of these two men was their active support of the researches among North American Indians, which were initiated by the Museum. The loss of these friends will always be keenly felt. The collections for which the Museum is indebted to them will be a per- Manent monument of their active interest. FF: B: THE GEM COLLECTIONS. THE FIRST MORGAN COLLECTION.* RIN 1890, through the §/ munificent donation of the Tiffany Gem Collection, by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, the Museum acquired a collection of re- markable popular interest. It represented the result of a care- ful and rather exacting search ‘in America for gem material. It also embraced gems and gem material from famous localities, and pur- ported to give a very instructive ex- hibit of all mineral species used in ornamental work and as cut stones. It had been designated by Mr. George F. Kunz as “one of the finest collections of precious stones, and aiso the most important, em- bracing all those found in the United States.” *The second, recently donated by Mr. Morgan, will be described in a future number. 79 There was no question as to its exhaustiveness. Along with the brilliant series of true gems, there were represented mineral species of merely experimental value as fancy stones, an idea that to the mineralo- gist might have seemed almost a transient vagary. Here were gath- ered, cut and polished beads of Rhodonite, brilliants of green Diop- side, ovals of the creamy Wollasto- nite and snowy Pectolite, tablets of Sphene and Cyanite, cabochons of pink Wernerite, squares of the ice- like Phenacite, brooches of green Ama- Beryllonite and the olassy zou Stone, and tokens of the limpid, Willemite,—all materials which were rather “chanced,” it yellow might be said, for their very serious likelihood of becoming gem-stones at all They added, however, to the variety, the contrasts, and the cumulative sense of value and fascination which the gems awoke amongst the crowding visitors. Was inconceivable. A. glance at other mineralogical collections in the United States may bring out better the character and value of this one. There is a beautiful collection of gems in the United States Na- tional Museum. It numbers about two thousand specimens, many of which were found in the United States, and furnishes a very complete exhibit of precious stones. Many are DH Ee) AMR TC ACw MUSEUM JOURN of remarkable excellence, as, nota- bly, the diamonds and pearls pre- sented to President Van Buren by the Iman of Muscat. In 1894 this collection received an important ac- cession in the gift of the interesting and intrinsically valuable cabinet of gems belonging to the late Dr. Isaac Lea, of Philadelphia. Its large aceu- mulation of rubies, sapphires, chryso- beryls, tourmalines, garnets, and other stones is relatively enhanced by a portfolio of drawings, made by its distinguished owner, of inclusions in the various gems. At Yale College there is an at- tractive suite of gems combining the Gibbs, Panot, and Tenny cab- Cambridge are Harlin inets; while at displayed the tourmalines. The Tiffany Gem Collection has been continuously increased by ad- ditional gifts from its founder since the day of its first exhibition, until to-day it fairly ranks second in the country. A new installation awaits it, and the augmentation of the new collection, so that its future charac- ter will far surpass its present limits unique and lustre. In looking over the gem cases, it is quite possible to linger a long time over each group of gems in re- counting the interesting facts of their nature, associations, and or'- oins, This superb tourmaline, darkly green, with the hue of a sun- ioe) sprayed spruce, tells of Mt. Mica in Maine, where so many glorious speci- mens have been discovered. This emerald from North Carolina recalls the industrious search made in the wildest portions of that State for these exquisite minerals, and how the farmers with an avidity whetted by the promise of gains hunted for the “ green rocks” or “ bolts.” These rich “pigeon-blood ” garnets recall the ant-hills in New Mexico, where either the ants or scorpions have carried them to the surface to afford free room for the erection of their chambers and galleries. These pale turquoises carry us back to prehis- excavations in New Mexico which are two hundred to three hundred feet in depth and from which thousands of tons of rock have been taken. This glorious opal, diffusing “like a dying dol- phin” the fire of a hundred tints, reminds the spectator of those slow segregations of opaline matter in the matrix of the trachite, which in Mexico occur in such quantity as to create a local industry in mining, toric exporting, and polishing them. A certain interest at- taches to gems, and as they also ir- romantic resistibly appeal to our sense of beauty, not unmixed, perhaps, with a more material sense of value, they form to the public a centre of con- stant charm and admiration. L. P. Gratacap. American Museum Journal Volume I JANUARY, 1901 Number 6 NOTES AND NEWS. CHANGES IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND ScrentTiFic STAFFS OF THE Mvs- EUM.—On January 1st, 1901, Profes- sor Henry Fairfield Osborn resigned the office of Assistant to the Presi- dent and was succeeded by Professor Hermon Carey Bumpus, who has hitherto (since 1892) occupied the chair of Comparative Anatomy at Brown University. Prof. Osborn will continue to discharge the duties of curator of the Department of Ver- tebrate Paleontology, but in order to pursue his investigations as the successor of the late Professor Marsh as Paleontologist (Vertebrates) of the United States Geological Survey he has withdrawn from the general administrative work of the Museum. Professor Bumpus has had much experience on the administrative side of scientific institutions. He has been Assistant Director of the Ma- rine Biological Laboratory and Direc- tor of the Laboratory of the United States Fish Commission, at Woods Holl, Mass.; a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rhode Island Hospital; Secretary and afterward Vice-President of the American So- ciety of Naturalists; and a member of the Board of Management of the Rhode Island Schoo] of Design. In addition to his work as Assist- ant to the President, Professor Bumpus will organize and develop the new Department of Invertebrate Zodlogy, of which he is now curator, and will also be in charge of the collection of reptiles and fishes. Louis Pope Gratacap, A.M., assist- ant curator of the Department of Geology, Mineralogy, Conchology, and Marine Invertebrate Zodlogy, has been appointed curator of the newly established Department of Mineralogy. tinuously served the Museum since 1877, when the institution was first established, and the extensive min- Mr. Gratacap has con- eralogical and conchological collec- tions have been under his care. The famous Bement collection of min- erals and the superb Tiffany col- lection of gems lately presented to the Museum are being installed. A full description of these collections will be given in a future number of this journal. In the Department of Geology, which has attained its present de- velopment under the curatorship of Professor R. P. Whitfield, Dr. E. O. Hovey, Assistant Curator since 1894, has been made Assoicate Curator. Dr. J. A. Allen’s department will TECK ASM Ed Ase MUSEUM JOURNAL henceforth be known as the Depart- ment of Mammalogy and Ornithol- ogy. Mr. Frank M. Chapman, Assistant Curator since 1888, has been made Associate Curator. Professor Franz Boas will change his present title of Assistant Curator of the Department of An- thropology for that of Curator in charge of Ethnology, and Mr. Mar- shall H. Saville, likewise, will be known as Curator in charge of Mex- ican and Central American Arche- ology, Professor Putnam retaining the curatorship of the whole De- partment of Anthropology, of which Mr. Harlan I. Smith has been made Assistant Curator. e€x- MemeEntTos or AUDUBON IN THE Museum.—The accompanying illus- tration was reproduced from a paint- ing recently donated to the Museum by Fordham Morris, Esq., of New York City, who in his letter of pre- sentation states: “The picture was painted in the late forties, only a few years before his [ Audubon’s] death, by his sons, John and Victor, both of whom assisted their father in later works on the Quadrupeds of America. Mr. Audubon was then residing at Audubon Park. “The picture was left to me by my father’s will. I give it to the Museum with the hope that for many years the students and visitors his 82 of the Institution will be pleased to look upon the features of the great naturalist as he appeared in later life, and remember how much our fellow-countrymen owe to his labors in forest and prairie and his brush and pencil in delineating for the benefit of future generations the forms, habits, and habitations of the Birds and Beasts of America.” The painting is now on exhibition in the Library reading-room. In regard to the other Audubon- iana owned by the Museum, a cat- alogue of which is given below, Miss Maria R. Audubon, granddaughter of the naturalist and author of ‘Audubon and his Journals,’ in re- sponse to a request from the editors, has been good enough to send the following notes: No. 1. An oil painting, ‘The Last Resort, now in the library, representing a deer pursued by dogs and taking to the water. By J. W. Audubon ; presented to the Museum by Mrs. William Moore Carson. “This picture was painted by John Woodhouse Audubon in the late fifties and is the middle one of a series of three of the same, or nearly the same, size. The first was a herd of deer listening, and was called ‘The Alarm.’ ‘The last, owned for many years by Mr. Sheppard Knapp, was called, if I remember rightly, ‘The Death Struggle, or perhaps ‘The Death.’ ‘bsy ‘stop, WeYypsoy Aq poyuasard “NOSNANV SAWVP NHOP 4O LIVE LYOd he i SET oe THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOU Ei ‘The Alarm’ isin England and was owned by Lord Lansdowne. ‘This one, ‘The Last Resort,’ was pur- chased by Mr. John Willams of the then firm of Williams & Guion. . . .” No. 2. An oil painting, ‘ Wild Turkeys,’ now in the library, by John James Audubon: Reproduced in the ‘elephant folio, deposited with the Museum by Audubon’s granddaughters, Miss Maria R. Au- dubon and Miss Florence Audubon. “The picture of the Wild Tur. keys was painted in Liverpool in 1826, with the intention of present- ing it to the Royal Institution of that city. The of space arising, Audubon painted the Turkey Cock alone, and gave that instead.” No. 3. Portrait of John James Audubon, by T. W. Wood. (Hung at the main entrance to the Bird Hall.) “This portrait was painted in 1893 for Mr. M. K. Jesup, . presented it to the Museum at the time the Audubon monument was unveiled in Trinity Church Cemetery, in April of that year. It is from two or more of the portraits best liked, the one by J. W. Audubon (opposite page 454, vol. 1, of ‘ Au- dubon and his Journals’) and the question . who one by Inman.” No. 4. A gun belonging to John James Audubon. Presented to the Museum by John J. Crooke. (Hung 84 at the main entrance to the Bird Hall.) “This gun is one of several which the family owned when Audubon died, and had no special associations that I know about. It was parted with in 1873 or ’74, by one of my brothers, but I never heard the name of the purchaser.” No. 5. Plate of the Great Auk ; from ‘elephant folio’ of 1836, drawn from nature by J.J. Audubon. En- graved, Printed, and Colored by H. Havell, 1836. Presented to the Museum by Gen. J. Watts DePey- ster. (In library.) “The plate of the Great Auk is simply an odd plate of the large edition. General DePeyster was an intimate and very true friend of my grandmother, and may have been presented by her with the plate or may have purchased it from her.” No. 6, Copper Plate of Louisiana or Harris’s Hawk, 1837, engraved by Robert Havell, London. “Copper plates of the same large edition (‘elephant folio’ ) have been picked up in various places from time to time, as the entire collection of five hundred was sold either in 186: ‘64. They were all more or less injured by fire in 1845, and when my grandmother, Mrs. J. J, or Audubon, was in her old age bereaved of both sons, she sold them at a great sacrifice rather than have the care of them.” THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL RESTORATIONS AND MODELS OF THE EXTINCT NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS. SSSQEW persons are able to increase the educational value and eeeee| form any adequate the attractiveness of the hall in this Roa | ideaofananimalfrom respect, Mr. Charles R. Knight, the its skeleton; even well-known animal painter, was in- trained specialists are vited to undertake the restoration too apt to consider a skeleton in of some of these animals. His very itself instead as the framework of a_ first studies proved that he was RESTORATION OF THE EXTINCT IRISH ELK. Made after the model. Copyrighted by the American Museum of Natural History, rgoo. moving and feeding creature. It was remarkably well qualified for this soon found that very few visitors to work, and in rapid succession he the Hall of Vertebrate Paleontol- made a series of drawings in color ogy appreciated the wonderful story which were reproduced in an article, told by the fossil skeletons of the past “Prehistoric Quadrupeds of the life of this continent, and in order to Rockies,” in the ‘ Century Magazine,’ 85 TELE AM Han Oa MUSEUM JOURNAL Copyrighted, by the American Museum of Natural History, 1g00. MODEL. Made after the mounted skeleton, 1896. This article attracted wide- spread attention and it was followed by others in ‘Harper's’ and the ‘Cen- tury’ in succeeding years. Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan became interested in these drawings and kindly offered to present them to the Museum as rapidly as they werecompleted. ‘The whole series now includes twenty- seven large water-colors, which rep- resent most careful and minute study of the fossilized skeleton on the part of Professor Osborn, his assistants, Dr. Wortman, Dr. Matthew, and others. A quotation from an article in the ‘Century’ well indicates the method followed by the artist in preparing these restorations. elt without say- that each con- goes ing, tains a large percentage of pure con- jecture as to the hairy or oth- eolor, er covering, developed MOUNTED SKELETON. (By courtesy of Mr. S, H. Chubb.) horns and other defences. In facet, these res- fee ehh beaNoMUS hE UM: FOU RN AL torations are regarded as working hypotheses which are of scientific value only in conveying a general idea of the external form and ap- pearance; but they are of very great popular educational value since they serve to interest and attract public attention to one of the most difficult though fascinating branches of com- parative anatomy.” Restorations somewhat similar to these have been undertaken ever since the rise of Paleontology, but it is no exaggeration to say that none have been so uniformly sue- cessful as this series. The best tes- timonial to its value is the fact of the demand by foreign museums for the enlarged photographs of these restorations. More or less complete series are now to be seen in London, Brussels, Berlin, Munich, Moscow, and Stockholm. It is proposed finally to issue a portfolio in which all these drawings will be repro- duced with careful artistic finish. Several of the drawings have re- ceived two or three months’ detailed study, and one of the preliminary steps is the preparation of a carefully executed wax model. The draughts- manship from these models has given the work of Mr. Knight its remarkably lifelike character, and has thus led to the more careful preparation and finish of the models themselves. The series now includes two of the Dinosaurs, the great 87 fin-backed saurian, Naosaurus, the American Moose-Elk, Cervalces amer- icanus, the extinct Irish Elk, Cervus megaceros ; the latter is here illus- trated by reproductions of the skel- The coloring of the models after the col- ored drawings of Mr. Knight has been done by Miss Helen Morton Cox. js [a nha eton, model, and restoration. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NALURAL HISTORY. (Continued. ) DEPARTMENT OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY. RIN 1885, when Dr. J. A. §} =Allen assumed charge of this department, the zoological collections of the Museum, both in the character of the specimens and in the number of the species represented, were among the first of the kind in the country. The collection of mammals numbered not far from 1000 mounted skins and about 300 mounted skeletons. The collection of birds contained not far from 10,000 mounted specimens, about 300 unmounted skins, and sev- eral hundred mounted skeletons. There were, however, many de- ficiencies, and efforts had already been made to supply them. In 1880, $6500 was allotted for this purpose, and from this time on the THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOT 2EA28 collections of both birds and mam- mals were rapidly increased, includ- ing material for study as well as exhibition. Contracts were made with Prof. H. A. Ward of Rochester to supply all the known species of mammals and birds found in North America north of Mexico, not al- ready represented in the collections. An agreement was also made with Professor Ward to secure for the Museum specimens of all the ob- tainable species of Monkeys lacking to complete the collection. During the following ten years a large part of these deficiencies was supplied. Among the additions to the col- lection of mammals, received mostly as gifts from friends of the Museum, may be mentioned the unrivalled group of American Bison, speci- mens of the Rocky Mountain Sheep, the West Indian and other Seals, a Camel, the Wapiti, Moose, and other American Deer, the Indian elephant “Tip,” and the Asiatic Elephant “Jumbo” (skeleton), the group of Orangs, and other mammals. The establishment of the Depart- ment of Taxidermy in 1886 led to of the beautiful and artistic bird groups, which now the construction form so prominent a feature of the Museum exhibition, the late Mrs. Robert L. Stuart having made a generous gift of $2500 for this It is difficult to praise y bits of o purpose. too highly these charmin nature, reproduced, in facsimile, from field, forest, lake, and seaside. The eye rests upon them with re- newed pleasure at each inspection ; they are poems and lessons com- bined; they arrest the attention of every observer, and stimulate, especially in the young, increased interest nature studies. Later the preparation of mammal groups was entered upon, the first series including groups of the Muskrat, Woodchuck, Opossum, American Bison, and American Moose. In the work of preparing the accessories for these groups, the in Museum taxidermists were at first greatly assisted by Mrs. E. 8. Mog- ridge, an Englishwoman, formerly employed at the South Kensington Museum; but the art was rapidly ac- quired by our assistants, under the supervision of Mr. Jenness Richard- son, Chief Taxidermist, and later of his successor, Mr. John Rowley. In 1899 the total number of groups on exhibition numbered 70, of which 22 were and 48 birds. Their production had involved an expenditure of over $45,000, and claim may be made that no other museum possesses such an mammals extensive series of groups so admir- able in design and execution. The growth of this department has been greatly promoted by vari- ous expeditions sent out by the Museum during the last fifteen THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL MOUNTED GROUP OF WEASELS IN LOCAL COLLECTION. years. These include an expedition to Montana by Messrs. Elliot and Richardson in 1887; to the Indian Territory in 1889 by Messrs. Rich- ardson and Rowley; and to New Brunswick by Mr. Rowley in 1893-94. These expeditions, besides greatly increasing the collections in general, were undertaken more espe- cially to secure material and acces- sories for the various mammal groups already mentioned. In 1888 Mr. Frank M. Chapman became assistant curator in the De- partment of Mammals and Birds and has since made numerous expe- ditions for the Museum, visiting 89 Florida, Texas, Cuba, the Lesser Antilles and Trinidad, Yucatan, Mexico, and the Gulf of St. Law- rence. The expeditions here men- tioned preceded by a short time the later numerous and important expe- ditions which have brought such a treasury of new material in verte- brate paleeontology, and in American archeology and ethnology. Up to the year 1886 the collections of this department included only the speci- mens on exhibition, and the neces- sity of providing a study or research collection commensurate with a sci- entific museum of the grade of the American Museum becamestrikingly THE AMERICAN (MUSEUM S002 Rae evident. While theexpeditionsabove mentioned greatly strengthened both the exhibition and study series, both have since received very great additions through a large number of important purchases and gifts, so that at the present time the research collections of this department com- pare favorably with similar collec- tions in other scientific embracing now about 60,000 birds and 20,000 mammals. A special feature of the study series is the large number of skulls and skele- tons of both birds and mammals, museums, but especially of the latter. The collection of North American birds’ nests and eggs is also one of the finest in the country, including several noted private collections, secured by gift or purchase. As yet little has been done in the way of providing and preparing an exhibit of reptiles and fishes, owing to lack of exhibition space. Several important additions have, however, recently been made, most of which are as yet in storage for lack of ex- hibition facilities. The exhibition collections are arranged with special reference to rendering them attractive and in- structive to the public. In the case of both mammals and birds they form three separate collections : (1) a general collection, or the mammals of the world; (2) the North Amert- can mammals; and (3) the local col- lection, representing the mammals found within fifty miles of New York City. The mammals constitut- ing the local collection will consist of thirty groups, of which nineteen are now completed, representing all of the more common species of this region. In like manner the birds are separated into: (1) the general collection of birds of the world; (2) the birds of North America; and (3) the local birds found within the vicinity of New York. few exceptions, may be regarded as a part of the local bird collection. While the collection of mammals collection, or The groups of birds, with a has attained such large proportions, it is deficient in many of the lead- ing types found outside of North The North American collection is to be extended into the new hall of the East Wing, where 5 5 will be represented, in the form of America. elaborate groups, most of the large mammals of the northern portion of the continent, including the Polar and other Bears, two species of Caribou, the Musk-Ox, the Barren Ground and Newfoundland Cari- bous, Porcupine, Wolves, and other types. This will necessitate a large out- lay in securing materials and in pre- Wolverine, paring the groups for exhibition. Material for some of the groups has been secured and work on them L. P. GRATACcAP. (To be continued, ) already begun. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL THE BEETLE COLLECTIONS: NOTES. GREAT many beetles now on exhibition are so small that notwith- standing the admirable way in which they are mounted (each one being placed on a little triangle of card-board set near the top of a long pin) they cannot be readily examined without a magnifying glass. In order to in- crease the educational value of these minute objects, the entomological department is preparing a number of enlarged drawings, as illustrated in our plate, which will be placed near the principal genera; this will also be helpful to visiting students and collectors, of whom there are a considerable number. Preparations are being made for the removal of the beetle collections into the new en- tomological gallery in the east wing, where they will occupy the railing eases that surround the central open- ing. The 1725 odd species, includ- ing about 5678 specimens now on exhibition, are being rapidly added to, and, by the time they are trans- ferred to the new cases, will amount to at least 3000 species and 10,000 specimens. These will include all the ordinary and many rare repre- sentatives of the numerous families of the great order Coleoptera, from different parts of the world. It is worth while mentioning in this connection some of the objects in the collection that appeal particu- First there are the well-known Tiger Beetles (family Cicindelide), among which one sees larly to laymen. many forms with wing-cases in lus- trous metallic greens and blues ; the label gives notes on their structure and life-habits, saying that they are predaceous, active creatures, abound- ing “in paths and sandy shores of rivers, ponds, and the ocean”; strong fliers, and slender- limbed, swift runners ; sunny with hideous, strong-jawed larvee that he in wait for weaker insects. The Carabidae or Ground Beetles come next; includ- ing as most noteworthy the aberrant Mormolyce from Java, with wing- vases greatly expanded and leaf-like. There is a fine display of water beetles (Dytiscide, Gyrinide, and Hydrophilide), all of them ovoid in form, in conformation with their diving habits, and possessing curious oar-like legs. The label gives some good notes on their life-habits, re- ferring also to the voracious larve or Water-Tigers, armed with scissor- like jaws that often snip off the tails of tadpoles and young fishes. Very curious are the Rove Beetles (Sfa- phylinide) with their long, uncoy- g!I ered bodies, the hard wing-cases (elytra) only reaching a short way down the back. The Skip-Jacks, Click Beetles, or Elaters ( E/ater7- THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL MONARTHRUM FASCIATUM. EUCONNUS VENTRALIS. COLY DIUM LINEOLA. PSELAPHUS ERICHSONII. MYODITES FASCIATUS. STILICUS_DENTATUS. ODONTOTA NERVOSA, TRICHOPTERYX HALDEMANNI. EURYMYCTER FASCIATUS. (The vertical lines beside the figures indicate the actual lengths of theZspecimens.) g2 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL de) ave present in crowded ranks. As everyone knows, they have a curious hinge on the under side of their bodies just behind the first pair of legs; when placed wrong side up they throw back the thorax with a sharp click, and the recoil sends them up in the air, to land safely “on all sixes.” Here also are the Cocujo, or Fireflies, of Tropical America. Among the great host of the Saw Horned Beetles ( Lupresti- de) the eye alights quickly on the superb bronze-tinted Chrysochroas of China and Japan, and the pris- matic violets and greens of the Bra- aihan Huchroma. The visitor will note the aptness of the name Stag Horn Beetles (Lucanide ), particularly in the typ- ical antlered genus Lucanus cervus of Linneus. The Scarabaide are present in closely packed phalanxes and one can make out very clearly the “clubbed lamellate antenne, the terminal joints being expanded into broad, flat leaves, which at the will of the insect can be closely shut into a compact club or loosely ex- panded fan-like and laid under the projecting clypeus. . . .” Onealso notes the “ robust, thick, often square body, short fossorial legs with large hooked claws for seizing leaves and stems.” This family includes the mammoths among insects, especially the ponderous drab Elephant Beetles and the Dynastes hercules of Brazil. 93 But one might go on indefinitely in this way, singling out the strik- ing or curious forms; one cannot forbear, however, a reference to some of the larger Weevil Beetles, with their grotesque elbow-jointed antenne and the extraordinary elon- gation of the head into a “snout” like that of the Great Ant-eater, the large eyes adding to the whole a most grotesque effect. For those interested in the thousands of beetles to be found within fifty miles of this city, there is the ex- tensive local collection in the main gallery. WK G: VOLUME XIII OF THE, MU: SEUM BULLETIN. =4)HE current volume of the Bulletin,* which appeared at the end of December, contains twenty - two articles by the scientific staff of the Mu- seum ; there are nineteen plates, sev- enty-five text figures, and 320 pages of text. We give below a brief sum- mary of the different articles: Article ..—The Mountain Cari- bou of Northern British Columbia. By J. A. Allen. (With 18 text figures. ) The fine series of six specimens upon which this paper is based are among the results of the Museum ** Bulletin of the American Museum of Nat- ural History,’ Vol. XIII, 1900, New York. FHE ‘AMERICAN MUSEUM: JOD haa Expedition to Arctic America, un- der Mr. A. J. Stone, supported by the late Mr. James M. which was Constable, and for the continuation of which made.* From various evidence Dr. Allen had inferred that a third unde- scribed variety of the Caribou must exist, and Mr. Stone was not dis- efforts are now being appointed in his expectation of dis- covering it. The specimens were shot in September, 1897, but owing chiefly to difficulties of transporta- tion they did not reach the Museum until November, 1899. Meanwhile (August, 1899) Mr. Ernest Seton- Thompson had named the species Rangifer montanus from an unde- scribed mounted specimen in the Museum at Ottawa. Mr. Seton- Thompson’s description is now sup- plemented with further descriptive notes and comparative tables of measurements, illustrated by a fine photographic series of the skulls of different species of Langifer ; to this are added Mr. Stone’s valuable field notes on the habits of the animal. Dr. Allen concludes that “when series of specimens of Cart- bou from different parts of Alaska and from different parts of the Northwest Territory are brought together, it will be found 9 ~s *See articles in Vol. I, No. p. 31 (May, 1900), and Vol. I, No. 4, p. 51 (November, 1900), of this journal. 94 that the Caribous of the region north of the United States are dif- ferentiated into quite a number of well-marked local forms as yet un- described.” Art. IL.—Observations on and Descriptions of Arctic Fossils. By R. P. Whitfield. (Plates I and IL.) The specimens were collected in the arctic region by the Peary Arctic Expedition of 1898; they include several new species of corals. Art. I1].—Description of a new Crinoid from Indiana. By R. P. Whitfield. (Plate IV.) The description of a new “stone- lily” is illustrated by a beautiful heliotype plate. Art. [V.—Note on the principal type specimen of Mosasaurus maxi- mus Cope, with illustrations. By R. P. Whitfield. (Plates [V and V.) Correction and amplification of Cope’s description of this great fos- sil marine lizard from the Cretaceous of New Jersey. Art. V.—Some Results of a Nat- ural History Journey to Northern British Columbia, Alaska, and the Northwest Territory, in the Interest of the American Museum of Natural History. By A. J. Stone. (With 5 text figures.) An itinerary is given of the adven- turous travels of the explorér in a little-known region; in the “Geo- graphical Notes” accepted charts and maps are corrected in several points, Teh AMERECAN MUSEUM POURN AL and newly discovered rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean are named in honor of the late Mr. Constable, Mr. Jesup, Dr. Allen, The ‘Notes on Mammals’ contain and others. * valuable information on the strue- ture and life-habits of the principal mammals, including such fast-disap- pearing forms as the Wood Bison, Musk Ox, Mountain Sheep; espe- cially interesting is the account of the endurance and agility of a wounded Mountain Sheep. Art. VI.— Note on the Wood Bison. By J. A. Allen. Notes on a recently killed specimen of this nearly extinct form, the northern variety of the American Bison, and (principally) an account of its decadence. Art. VII.—Symbolism of the Arapabo Indians. By Alfred L. Kroeber. (With 138 text figures.) The author’s material was gath- ered for the Museum in connection with the series of investigations on the North American Indians. He shows, among other things, that every decorative design of the Ara- paho is also pictorial, and the mean- ings of the symbols are explained. Art. VIII.—List of Bats collected by Mr. H. H. Smith in the Santa Marta Region of Colombia, with de- scriptions of new species. By J. A. Allen. * See this journal, Vol. I, No. 2 (May, 1900), p. 32. 95 This is the second paper of sev- eral on the collection of mammals made for the Museum by Mr. Smith The collections were presented to the Museum by Mr. Morris K. Jesup. Four new species are described. Art. [X.—Note on an interesting specimen of Calcite from Joplin, Missouri. By L. P. Gratacap. (Plate VI, and 4 text figures.) An ap- parent crystallographic novelty is in this little-worked region. recorded in the relation of the two rhombohedrons forming the crystals. Art. X.—A Shell Gorget from the Huasteca, Mexico. By Mar- shall H. Saville. (With 3 text fig- ures. ) An archeological specimen from the state of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in the region of the Huastecans, a little- known branch of the Yucatan Maya stock. The gorget is a thin conca- vo-convex plate on which is carved the figure of a deity. The author concludes: there seems to have been a high state of culture among the Huastecans, as ia seen in this beautiful carving, and a near relationship with the Mayan mythology, which is indicated by the close resemblances noted be- tween the figure and those of the codices.” Art. XI.— An Onyx Jar from Mexico, in Process of Manufacture. By M. H. Saville. (Plate VIIL) The specimen was found during THE AMEPERTCAN MUSED JOT te the Museum explorations of mounds and tombs at Xoxo in the state of Oaxaca. Being an unfinished piece of work it illustrates clearly the way in which tubular drills of cane, bone, or native metal were used to hollow out stone objects. Art. XIL—A Cranial Variation in Macropus bennetti. By B. Ar- thur Bensley. (With 1 text figure.) The presence of a supernumerary bone is recorded in the wall of each of a Bennett’s of Kangaroo). orbit of the skull Wallaby (a kind Inasmuch as a pair of similarly placed bones (prefontals) is charac- teristic of lower vertebrates their presence in this specimen may indi. to an ancestral W.4kG: (To be continued, ) eate a reversion character, 1 LECTURES, ILLUSTRATED BY STEREOPTICON VIEWS, TO BE GIVEN AT THE -MUSEUM DUR- ING FEBRUARY. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 9) Washington’s Birthday, February 22, (Doors open at o'clock. ) ‘Paris.— The 9 o 3.90 P.M. Prof. Albert S. Bickmore Banks of the Seine.” (No tickets are required.) BOARD OF EDUCATION. Tuesday evenings at eight o’clock. (Doors closed during lectures. ) February 5th—‘“ The Navahos of Ari- zona and New Mexico.” Mr. G. Wharton James. 96 February 12th—“ The Isthmian Canal.” Prof. Emory R. Johnson. February 19th—‘‘ The Antarctic : The Cruise of the ‘ Belgica.’” Mr, H. LE. Bridgman. February 26th—“ Brazil and Guiana.” Mrs. Florence J. Stoddard. (No tickets are required. ) LINN AAN SOCIETY NEW YORK CEE OF Two LrecrurEs oN Naturauists’ TrRav- ELS, THURSDAY EVENINGS AT EIGHT O’CLOCK. February 21st—‘‘ The Sea Gardens of Bermuda.” Prof. C. L. Bristol, New York University. February 28th—‘ A Naturalist on the Coast of Alaska.” Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Survey, U. 8. De- partment of Agriculture. (Admission by ticket. ) COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. Four LrecrurEes oN TREES, Parks, AND GARDENS, SatuRDAY EVENINGS AT EIGHT O’CLOCK. February 2—‘‘ Trees and Plants in the Gardens of the Renaissance.” Prof. A. D. F. Hamlin. February 9—“ The Life of a Tree and the Life of a Forest.” Mr.C. P. Warren. 16—** How to Distinguish Mr. C. P. Warren. February 23—‘ Trees and Shrubs for Shade and Ornament in Landscape Gar- Mr. Samuel Parsons, Jr. February the Trees.” dening.” (Tickets of They can be procured, without charge, by application to the Secretary of Colum- admission are required. bia University. ) American Museum Journal Volume I FEBRUARY-MARCH, 1901 Numbers 7-8 NOTES AND NEWS. Toe Annuat Meerrine of the Trustees of the American Museum of Natural History was held at the residence of the President on the evening of February 11, 1901; the following officers and committees were elected for the coming year: President, Morris K. Jesup; /7rst Vice-President, William E. Dodge ; Second Vice-President, Henry F. Osborn ; Zreasurer, Charles Lanier ; Assistant to the President, Hermon C. Bumpus; Secretary and Assist- ant Treasurer, John H. Winser; Executive Committee, Morris K. Jes- up, Charles Lanier, William E. Dodge, J. Hampden Robb, Anson W. Hard, H. O. Havemeyer, Fred- erick E. Hyde, Percy R. Pyne; Auditing Committee, Anson W. Hard, Gustav E. Kissel, George G. Haven, The President ex-officio ; Finance Committee, J. Pierpont Morgan, Charles Lanier, D. O. Mills, D. Willis James, The Presi- dent ex-officio; Nominating Com- mittee, D. O. Mills, William E. Dodge, The President ex-officio. It was unanimously voted that the report of Mr. Abram 8. Hewitt on the Bement Collection of Minerals and the Tiffany Collection of Gems and Pearls be engrossed, and that a 9 copy be forwarded to the donor, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. The work of installing these great collections in the exhibition halls is now going on, but will not be com- pleted before next fall. As soon as the collections are ready for inspec- tion, Museum members and the pub- he will notified. Illustrated descriptions of these collections will be then be published in this journal. The Trustees adopted resolutions of thanks to Mr. Andrew E. Doug- lass, who has presented to the Museum his valuable archzeological collection. The Trustees also voted that the name of Andrew E. Douglass should be entered on the roll of Patrons of the Museum. To Messrs. B. T. Babbitt Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr., the Trus- tees extended their hearty thanks for the gift of several large collections illustrating the ethnology of the southwestern por- tions of the United States, and for the great assistance which they have given to the Department of Anthro- pology by their patronage in detray- ing the expenses of the archeological and ethnological expeditions which for the past five years have annually archeology and THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL added to scientific knowledge, and have provided the Museum with valuable material for exhibit and further research. In resolutions addressed to Mr. Fordham Morris the Trustees ac- cepted with grateful thanks the portrait of Audubon, the Naturalist, painted by his sons John and Victor Audubon, and directed that it be permanently placed in the reading room of the library. [Inasmuch as a number of me- mentos of the great naturalist are already exhibited in the Museum additional gifts illustrative of his life and work would now be of especial educational and historic value. Very desirable is a copy of the “elephant folio” edition of “The Birds of America” (1836). | Resolutions of thanks were also addressed to the Very Reverend Eugene A. Hoffman, D.D., LL.D., etc., who, as recorded in a previous number of this journal,* presented a representative collection of the but- terflies of North and South America and Asia, aggregating five thousand specimens. OrBICULAR GRANITE FROM Swe: DEN AND Frynanp.—In February the Department of Geology obtained by purchase a handsome slab four feet long by one foot wide of * Vol. I, No. 1, April, 1900, pp. 15, 16. gd > orbicular granite from Kortfors, dis- trict of Orebro, Sweden. This granite, which is sometimes called a “pudding granite,” looks some- what like a conglomerate, but the round, black masses in it are not water-worn pebbles like those of a conglomerate; they are segregations of black oxide of iron, with some black mica, and brown hornblende and a small amount of feldspar, which formed in and from the gen- eral mass of the rock while that was The dif- ferent layers or zones of these balls still in a molten condition. differ somewhat from. one another The slab has been placed temporarily on the top shelf of case S at the north end of the Geological Hall, where it may be readily compared with the two handsome blocks of somewhat simi- lar rock from Finland which are now in case A on the opposite side of the same hall. in chemical composition. The orbicular granite from Fin- land, a photograph of which illus- trates this note, differs from that from Sweden in several points, the most immediately striking of which is that of the size of the balls. The globular masses in the Finland gran- ite are very much larger than those of the Swedish rock, several of them having a maximum diameter of eight and one-half inches. In the Finnish rock the black material is nearly all black mica, while the light-colored fee AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL portion contains both quartz and feldspar. A sec- ond at the photograph shows that these masses are olance us not spherical in form, and it has been proven that they are ellip- solids of three dimensions. Another inspec: tion calls our at- tention to the fact that the outer rings ofall & the balls in this mee block are notcon- tinuous. This was caused by some change in the molten rock which raised its temperature again or in some other way caused the outer portions of these already solidified masses to be redissolved or melted off by the other part of Another large block of Finnish granite, which stands near the one which was_ photo- graphed, differs from it in having the balls larger proportion of feldspar and quartz, the black mica being mostly confined to the outer rings. In both these Finnish specimens and in that from Sweden the minerals composing the concretions are ar- the roeck-mass. contain a very much BLOCK OF ORBICULAR GRANITE FROM KANGASNIEMI, 99 FINLAND. ranged with their longer crystal axes radiating from the centre like the spokes of a wheel, although the mica flakes are sometimes tangen- tial, while the minerals composing the rest of the rock have solidified without arranging themselves in any definite manner with reference to one another. Although orbicular granites and diorites are known from. several parts of the world, they are suffi- ciently rare to be of great interest to all students of rocks, and the three specimens to which this note refers form a noteworthy addition to the collection in the Geological Hall. sO Ee THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOUER 2s LECTURES, ILLUSTRATED BY STEREOPTICON VIEWS, TO BE GIVEN AT THE MUSEUM DUR- ING APRIL. BOARD OF EDUCATION. (Lectures begin promptly at 8 p.m.) Tuesday, April 2d, Mr. Walter P. Terry —“ The Pan-American Exposi- tion.” Tuesday, April 9th, Mr. Peter Mac- Queen— The Philippines.” Tuesday, April 16th, Dr. John C, Bow- ker—‘ Spain.” Tuesday, April 23d, Mr. Peter Mac- Queen—“ Campaigning in South Africa.” Tuesday, April 30th, Dr. James Rose- dale—‘‘ Life in Palestine.” Illustrated by songs and costumes. Recent Accessions To THE Dr- PARTMENT OF MamMats AND Birps. —Through an expedition to Kenai Peninsula by Mr. Andrew J. Stone in the interests of The American Museum of Natural History, the Museum has received some fine specimens of the Big Alaskan Moose, recently described as A/ces gigas. This animal is the largest known representative of the Deer tribe, and differs from the Moose of eastern Canada and Maine in its larger size and darker colors, but especially in the great development of its antlers, which are much larger than those of the eastern Moose. Mr. Stone also obtained specimens of two species of Bear and a head of a fine Caribou. Other recent accessions of note are a collection of mammals from Peru, consisting of about one hun- dred and fifty specimens and repre- senting some twenty-five species, of which quite a number proved new to science and others had been only recently described from specimens received at the British Museum. With this collection was also re- ceived a small collection of birds, which contained many species new to the Museum collection and sev- eral new to science. This and other small collections received from different parts of South America show that even the birds and mammals of this region are still very imperfectly known. It would be greatly to the advan- tage of the Museum if it could send a trained collector to the less known parts of South America, Not only is the Museum lacking in material from that continent, for exhibition and study, but recent experience shows there is a rich harvest in store for any enterprising institu- tion that will take advantage of it. Erieut Hunprep Specimens of South American and Indian But- terflies, donated last year by the Very Rev. E. A. Hoffman, have been mounted. Dean Hoffman has also author- ized the curator of the Department Cele) js 3 Ml AMERICAN MUS EUM JOURNAL ANTLERS OF ALCES GIGAS, 74 INCHES SPREAD. of Entomology to purchase any specimens of North American But- terflies not already represented in the collection given by him to the Museum. Dr. F. C. Nicholas has presented two specimens of the rare Papilio homerus from Jamaica. by Vol. I, No. 3, p. 36 of this journal it was stated that “ the draw- ings and preparation of the plans for the new building” were “ finally assigned to Calvert Vaux . es aes “that the design offered by i Vaux was accepted.” This was IOl meant to refer only to the plan and not to the entire We quote from the remarks of President structure. Jesup made at the reception tend- ered by the Trustees, in commemor- ation of the opening of the new auditorium, Wednesday, October 30, 1900: “ . . . it would not be right for me to close my remarks at this time with- out mentioning the architects who have planned, designed and constructed this hall. I refer to Messrs. Cady, Berg and See. These gentlemen have had the con- struction of these buildings from the very and by the magnificence, of the buildings you beginning : utility and beauty THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL are yourselves the best judges of the way in which they have performed their duties.” Tur Paper by Dr. Hrdlicka in Volume XII of the Museum ‘ Bul- letin’ entitled “Description of an ancient anomalous skeleton from the Valley of Mexico, with special reference to supernumerary and bi- cipital ribs in man,” has been trans- lated into Spanish by Professor A. L. Herrera of the National Museum of Mexico, and published in the Annals of that important institution. The material upon which the paper was based is one of the many valua- ble finds of the Hyde Southwestern Expeditions. Museum Ixiusrrarep Lectures on Paris. — Professor Bickmore’s lectures on the Paris Exposition are being splendidly supplemented by his new series on Paris. The Mus- eum system of visual instruction, which is now highly organized and efficient, has been developed in order to bring into contact with the great- ness and beauty of the world both the teachers and pupils of the public schools of New York State. In this latest series of lectures there are thrown on the great twenty five- foot screens over three hundred views of stereoscopic clearness and depth, illustrative of the most glor- ious city in all the world, Compared with these views ordi- nary photographic reproductions can only faintly suggest the charm of the reality. As one follows the well- planned lecture one begins to under- stand the mystery and nobility of the medizval Notre Dame, as described by Victor Hugo, one appreciates bet- ter the courtyard at Fontainebleau where the Corsican took sad leave of his veterans of the Old Guard,—or the gallery of battles at Versailles, which shows him as the storm-king, in the vortex of Rivoli, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland. The representa- tive view here reproduced shows the interior of the Museum of Zodlogy in the Jardin des Plantes. Tur ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND Z06- LOGICAL material secured incident- ally by Mr. Barnum Brown in the course of his search for fossil mam- mals and birds in Patagonia has been transferred by the Depart- ment of Vertebrate Paleontology, which conducted the expedition, to the Departments of Anthropol- ogy and Invertebrate Zodlogy. The anthropological material illustrates, to some extent, the culture and physical characteristics of several rapidly diminishing tribes of Pata- gonia and Terra del Fuego, especi- ally the Tehueleches, who are noted for their height. The DEpaRTMENT OF ORNITHOL- ogy has recently placed on exhibi- tion in the local Bird Hall a unique 102 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL INTERIOR OF THE MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY IN THE JARDIN DES PLANTES. A representative view from the lectures on Paris. collection of photographs from na- ture, illustrating the nests, with eggs or young, of most of the species of birds which breed in the region about New York City. The negatives from which the photographs were taken were, with some exceptions, loaned for this purpose by the Department of Pub- he Instruction; this Department having, during the past four years, spared no efforts to secure the most desirable illustrative material of this kind. These photographs demonstrate very clearly the value of the cam- era in the study of birds in na- ture. Not only is it possible to photograph the nest with its sur- roundings, but by the exercise of much patience and ingenuity the adult bird may be photographed while on the nest. Pictures may also be made of the young birds, 103 TEE. OMe DL CCAN MUSEUM JOURNAL From nature by E. G. Tabor. From negative in Dept. of Publi elected to the office of Presi- dent and Miss E. H. Lock- wood to that of Secretary- Treasurer,— and addresses by Hon. Charles R. Skinner, Dr. T. S. Palmer, William Dutch- er, and Frank M. Chapman. Mr. Skinner spoke of the ‘Educational Value of Bird Instruction. NEST AND EGGS OF GREEN HERON. showing their condition at various ages and development from day to day. Bird and nest photography is as yet in its infancy, but the camera has already proved of so great as- sistance to the ornithologist that the next few years will doubtless wit- hess a great advance in apparatus as well as in methods. FE. M. C, Tue Frirra Annuat MEETING oF THE AuDUBON Soctety of New York State was held in the large lecture hall of the Museum on March 8, 1901. Morris K. Jesup, presided. The President, The exercises included the an- nual election,—Mr. Jesup being re- Study,’ which, with the study of the more com- mon forms of animal and plant life about us, he characterized as of more importance than the study, in a foreign tongue, of events which transpired 2000 years ago. He em- phasized especially the elevating, purifying influence of contact with nature, and heartily endorsed all educational work which would tend to give us a practical knowledge of creatures with which we might daily come in contact. Dr. Palmer, who is in charge of the enforcement of the Lacey Act, the federal law regulating the im- portation, transportation, and sale of animals, spoke of the necessity for laws designed to protect non-game 104 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL as well as game birds, and explained in detail the relation of the federal to state laws; the most important provision of the federal Jaw mak- ing an animal subject to the laws of whatever State or Territory it chances to be in. Mr. Chapman reviewed the work of the Audubon Societies and com- mented on the remarkable results they had accomplished with very limited means. Mr. Dutcher exhibited a series of slides, made by himself, on the Maine coast during July, 1900, and showing certain of the larger col- onies of Herring Gulls which had been protected from the demands of feather hunters by wardens whose services Mr. Dutcher had secured by means of the Thayer Fund. AMONG THE ARCH Z0LOGI- CAL SPECIMENS from a mound in St. Clare County, I11., pre- sented by Mr. Bertrand Bell, a life member of the Museum, is the pottery ves- sel here figured ; which is of a well-known type, represent- ing a beaver. From nature by E. G. Tabor. TO5 The beaver is indicated by the head with prominent incisor teeth, gnaw- ing a rounded stick, the ends of which are grasped by the paws ; the hind legs are on the sides of the ves- sel near the rim, the characteristic flat tail of the beaver forming a pro- The col- lection also contains a large number of fine flint implements, and five ear jection opposite the head. ornaments made of stone, covered with copper. Mr. Ernest VoLxk is now at the Museum arranging for exhibition the archzeological material which he has found in the glacial deposits and in several Indian sites near Trenton, N. J. One of the many bits of pottery obtained from the Indian site .on the lowlands near Trenton is here From negative in Dept. of Public Instruction. NEST AND YOUNG OF GREEN HERON. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOT Nate was fitted over this vessel while the clay was still moist. Such specimens enable the archzeologist to study the prehistoric fabrics of the eastern United States for comparison with those of living tribes. Thus, on this insignificant fragment of a broken pot, we have impressed the size of the mesh and of the twist of the cord and the sort of knot that was used. These features are well brought out in the impression made by the specimen in soft clay, as illustrated in the left- hand figure. As pointed out ina former note in this journal,* such fragmentary specimens are often of more evidential value than and beautiful objects. entire Mr. M. H. Savirtze, in charge of the Museum explorations at Mitla in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, writes to Professor Putnam under * Vol. I, No. 3, p. 46. date of February 3, 1901, as fol- lows: “T have telegraphed to Mr. Jesup in- forming him of the discovery which I have just made of basement galleries under one of the largest edifices at Mitla. This is perhaps the most important discovery I have yet I have finished excavating the courtyard of the made in Mexico. quadrangle of the subterranean galleries (see Stevens’ work) and the work has been very successful from the scientific standpoint. Until had no knowledge of the substructures of Mitla (see Bandelier’s work), and on account of the debris which filled the courtyard, the buildings have presented a flat dwarfed now, we appearance placed on rude mounds. Now that the court of this group is cleared, the buildings are ‘at last seen placed on substructures of the same height as the edifices, with platforms and sloping faced walls of stone beautifully laid and reached This court is absolutely square,—117 feet N. and §., and W. The bases are in correct proportion to the size the. buildings appear elevated to their proper by graceful flights of stone steps. and the same E. of the ‘palaces, and as cleared 100 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL FRAGMENT OF POTTERY FROM AN ANCIENT INDIAN SITE NEAR TRENTON. height above the cement floor of the court. In several places where the lower steps have been injured, they had been re- paired with cement. The base was coy- ered with a thin coating of cement painted red, and the courtyard floor was also painted red, as well as the buildings themselves. form galleries is in the floor of the court at the point which I have marked in the photograph. I shall have a full series of views, later, of the court and different The entrance to the ecruci- buildings, as well as flash-light views of the interior of the ‘Tomb.’ It is about 45 feet long and 45 feet from the end of one arm to the end of the other. The door faces the west, sealed by a large stone which had been thrown there by the Spaniards; but no vandalism had been committed, so that the chambers are in a perfect state of preservation. The grecque panels show one new de- 107 sion. S : The cross proper is nearly 9 feet in height. President Diaz has expressed his pleasure at the discovery in a tele- gram to Batres. 2 VOLUME XIII OF THE SHUM BULLETIN. (Continued. ) ze RT. XVII.*— Cruci- | form Structures near Mitla. By M. H. Sa- ville. (Plates VIII- XVII and 8 text fig- MU- ures. ) Although tion had been accomplished at the considerable explora- * Arts. XIII-XVI are here placed after Art. XVII. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL ruined city of Mitla, in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, very little had been done toward excavating the structures underground, until the American Museum began the work which it has been carrying on un- der the terms of an agreement with the Republic of Mexico. This paper deals with only a single feature of the Mitla remains, namely the cruci- form structures or tombs of the ancient priests, which are by far the most elaborate and important burial chambers found in the New World, both in size and in beauty of stone Bulletin A. M. N. H., Vol. XIII, Pl. XI. work. Four of these are described and figured. The curious mosaic patterns on some of the walls recall similar mosaic work on certain Mayan ruins in Yucatan. Art. XIII—A New Species of Pleistocene Horse from the Staked Piains of Texas. By J. W. Gidley. (With 5 text figures.) The type of this species (Aguus scott?) was found in the Pleistocene Equus Beds of Texas. This was one of the last of the great line of native horses in America, the evolu- tion of which, from the smal] four- Pern, ad ‘ ad, AGE hey A CRUCIFORM TOMB NEAR MITLA. 108 PH AMERICAN MUSEUM. SOURN AL PALACE OF MITLA MENTIONED IN MR. SAVILLE’S LETTER SHOWING PRELIMINARY EXCAVATION IN THE PLAZA. toed Hyracothere onward, is so well illustrated in the Museum collec- tions. This species was “an animal with a head about the size of a large draught-horse but with the height of body and weight of limbs of an ordinary western pony, witha length of body very similar to that of the zebra or quagga.” It is here com- pared by description and illustration with the Domestic Horse (Aguus caballus). Art. XIV.—List of Birds col- lected in the District of Santa Marta, Colombia, by Mr. Herbert H. Smith. By J. A. Allen. As _ indicated previously (Art. VIII.), the region is peculiarly attractive as being almost wholly unworked by zodlogists. The list includes 388 species, several being new to science. The collec- tion was presented by Mr. Jesup. Art. XV.—Note on the Generic Names, Didelphis and Philander. By J. A. Allen.