8
THE HESPERIAN
boon put ill a cnso novoi designed for thorn.
The largo Moirill collodion occupies the
greater part of the oast side and of the mid
dle of the room. Most of it is in temporary
cases, some pieces in no cases at all. Some
of the material collected this last summer on
the Morrill geological expedition have not
yet heen unpacked. One of the iincst so
called "Devil's cork-screws" possessed hy
any institution, which was obtained on that ex
pedition, is nearly ready for mounting, but
there is no room for it in the museum. This
enumeration does not exhaust the list, and
it is in itself general rather than specific.
To any one having the least liking for
orderliness, this crowded condition of the
museum is painful, moreover it defeats the
very purpose of a state museum. For the
purpose of such a museum is cortainly not
merely to afford storage- room for specimens
for class-room use, nor can it be for the
mere gathering of curious things for the
amusement of visitors. Everything that
goes into a stato museum should have a
practical value as a means of illustrating
something or other in history or the natural
sciences. The great French anatomist was
able, if only a fragment of a single bone was
given him, to tell with a marvelous degree
of accuracy what the whole animal was like,
but he never could have been able to do so
had he not had a great number of bones of
other animals to compare with each other
and with the fragment. The anatomical stu
dent of the present has or should have at
his command a much greater amount of ma
terial for comparison than the great French
man had. The amount of material is enorm
ous, and if there is to be any reasonable
rapidity in obtaining results from its study,
it must bo so classified and arranged as least
to impede the progress of the work of the
student. Crowding is diametrically opposed
to obtaining good results.
Further, just as one may form an idea of
an animal from a single rib, so from a sin
glo specimen of bird, mammal, or insect
which is known to have been obtained with
in a certain state a more or less accurate
idea of the goncral charactor of tho climate,
water supply, soil, and vegetation of that
stato may be formed. And tho greater the
number of specimens and the more numer
ous the locations represented, the more ac
curate will be the idea. Hence it is plain
that tho entire national rosources of a state
should bo presented and properly displayed
in its museum, even if for no other reason
than to serve as an advertisement to the peo
ple of other states, who are constantly visit
ing the museum. And inasmuch as
strangers visiting tho public institutions of a
state probably obtain their strangest impres
sions from what they see in its museum it
seems incumbent upon those having the
power to provide the facilities with which
to show up the material already brought to
gether, and constantly coming in, in such a
way as will bo most advantageous to the
state and to the institution having the
museum in charge.
Lastly, although the growth of the Uni
versity as a whole within tho past few years
has been phenomenal, it certainly is no
where near maturity. And although repre
sentatives of tho University have been in
every nook of the state and contributed to
the growth of its museum, there is very much
that is yet to bo done. The fields that have
been explored for specimens are far from
exhausted and the wealthy institutions of
the east are constantly after them and will
get them too, unless those interested
in the state and its University are enabled
and encouraged to be the first in the
field. In various parts of the state val
uable specimens are being found constant
ly. Those should be brought together
here, but if the institutions of other
states have plenty of moans for displaying
such material, they are certain to get it
rather than our own institution without
means. Besides all this, tbore are plenty
of other people in the state than those who
have donated tho 14,000 worth of material,
who would be and are willing to place their
valuable collections on exhibition here as
soon as a suitable place can be offered them.
it