New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-05
SCIENCE AZ HARVARD.
INTERESTING WORK IN TIE MUSEUMS AND OBJ
sERVATORY.

| INTERESTING WORK IN TIE MUSEUMS AND OBJ
sERvATORY.
fFkou AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT THE TRIBUNE
CAMBRIDGE, Mass, Jan. 3.-The skeleton of
the right whale that went ashore at ProvIncetown,
Mass. year ago. has been prepared for the Agassz
Museum by the taxidermist III. A. Ward or Rochester
" and Is now in boxes in tho museum. The skeleton
is sixty-four feet long, and entire year has been
spent I'm preparing it, bleaching. riyetng and campng
the bones etc IL will be suspended from the ceiling of
the room on the second oor dire city over the main en-
trance THIS and the adjoining IL on the west
IRE being filed with stuffed and mounted niaminalia by
Mr. Ward, the contract with him being $4,000 one.
The interior work OF the portion Of the museum
is being finished elsurely. 1t Is expected that these
rooms will be completed by next spring. But 1t will
probably be two years before they filed with cases
and shows ready for the exhibits which are
stored away in the other part OF the building There
are thousands OF prepared specimens thus awaiting
Only small number OF the typical species
arc vet exhibited owing to lack OF ROOM The basement
floor OF the new building has been laid In cement and
the first oor In concrete. Three large boilers aud fur
naces are in the basement and tho practically
fire proof.
Everybody knows that the speciality of Louis Agassz
was fishes and that his Aexanoer Xgassiz Ia one OF
the first authorities In tho world In some departments OF
ichtyoogy It strange therefore, to nd that the
Cambridge contains the largest and finest col
lection of fishes In America Every ish In the building
has been placed alcohol by the hands OF one man-Mr
Samuel Garman, who for ten years and more has been
engaged in work here in the museum as well as In the
great West In South America the West Indies and else
where With both OF the Agassizes he has worked and
travelled and studied. He has invented various little
the elegant and careful Treserva-
ton the glass jar specimens Into every jar now goes
metallic label with the number and name OF the speel-
men stamped upon it, 1t Is evident that this device Is
intended to guard against the possible confusion and
ronbe that would result from the destruction OF the
outer label OF paper Mr.. Garman has also effected
saving Of large formerly spent FOR alcohol IL was
found that the alcohol eynporated from the Jars owing
10 the imperfect fitting of the shoppers, and the reng
of the lars required annually large amounts OF the costly
fluid Now the plan Is to dip the shoppers IN melted
beoswax this fills up nersces and Irregularities
OF the ground glass; and entirely prevents evaporation
The name OF every reptile sh in the building Is en-
tered upon private card catalogue so that an aecodnt OF
stock can always be taken Besides this catalogue to his
library OF glass jars, Mr.. Garman has accumulated
very rare library ofbooks on fishes and reptiles lie
bnys by agents In Europe Ainerica, sometimes pay
ing hundreds OF dollars i3r u snge woth last ,nmer
large party Princeton College was also IN te eiu
bat Mr. Garman alone obtained ten or tweVo Times Us
many fossils as did the party from Princeton This wa
doubtless owing TO tho circumstance tat no nas peo
fss-hunting for Professor Agasslz almost every SUN
wsr during lie past ten years. Last summer he OBJ
tanned one entirely species or fossil animal Ma
! American Archaeology were also obtained by him. lie
was steamng along the South American coast ono sea-
there Was an cemetery, he deteriiea 10 heco
nrize He secured large number OF worRincn, Eho
d,@ over an immense area OF ground ana secured
] number OF mummles-Mr Garman WORKING lor three
days and nights without sleep while directing tneir WORK
and packing the munmes for shipment TO Camoridge'
Dirng the mast summer Professor f. W. PUTNAM, OF
,he Museum OK Archaeology has visited Tennessee and
explored more OF the interesting altar-mounds OF ,he
river region Of that State Tho tangible results Oh ns
excavations are st III the museum IN boxes, whieh
| have not yet been unpaeked. ..,,,,
At the observatory Professor Pickering Is continuing
his work cataoguig In the order OF their eompantye
brightness the visible in this latitude lie mas "
ready caalogued the stars TO the thirty fourth mag
nitude lie has invented several different Pbotomeelo
Tor mis- work. The In use IL very large isru-
mcnt tine operators OF which arrive at their RESULTS oS
DoariZn the light OF two stars, and Then uiiiusnss
fhe light OF the brighter OF the two until Is OF the sano
intensity as the brght:.a calculation Oh certain an
giles and SO on which the photoneer registers tneh
| abes them TO express numerically the dWerenco ih
brightness between the two stars. -, o....
"a swelling rapidly and Il Ia intended to publish inc mrs
humber in about three weeks Among the Ave diroctors
OF the company that this new weekly are tne pre-
ident Professor d. G. Gilman, or John Hopkins oni
yerIfv: Professor Othnicl G. Marsh, OF Newasen anQ
Professor Alexander Graham Bell, OF Salem.