The record-union., 1893-09-23
CONCERNING A MUSEUM.

CONCERNING A MUSEUM.
In Los Angeles movement is on foot
to establish Museum of Natural History
and of curiosity. It is a good movement,
for museums are powerful object lessons
in education. and afford large number
OF people helpful recreation, since study
in them is radical change from every
day routine.
Sacramento possesses a building admir-
ably adapted to museum purposes, and
safer for such purposes than any other in
the State. The association in charge has
an the last eight years gathered very
slowly, and under many disadvantages,
q collection of some 5000 objects, the ma
jor portion of which are valuable acqui-
sitions. But it has had to depend wholly
upon voluntary contributions, and has
had no means to expend in the purchase
OF collections.
But the nucleus it has in the city gallery
is supplemented by the State Mineral
Cabinet, which has lately been greatly
improved and rendered more attractive
and understandable, and still further i'm
provements are in hand by the Trus-
tees. All that is needed here, then,
to realize the Los Angeles idea
for Sacramento, is attention on the
part of our own people to the subject of
securing examples for the museum. If
one-half of our citizens would make it a
point to have natural history subjects that
are every now and then available turned
over to the Museum Association for class
ification and exhibition in cases at the
gallery, in less than six months there
would be the necessity for constructing a
large number of new glass cases to be
placed in various parts of the building
on all its floors. Examples of the flora
and fauna of the State, of mineral depos-
its. of geological stratas, of woods, grains,
soils and shells; examples of the work of
mechanical skill, of the product of in
Tentive genius, of curios found on the
coast or brought from abroad, etc., can be
gathered if the friends of the city will
render essential aid, for the association
cannot accomplish it without general CO.
operation on the part of the people.
Ifit were possible to command so much
as $40, ,00O-if some of our wealthy people
would do so much for the city as to ex-
mend for the present and future inhabit-
ants of the place that sum for Ward col
lection, very large and complete natural
history collection could be procured for
il. similar to the collection pur-
chased by the late Senator Stanford and
the late Charles Crocker for the Academy
of Sciences in San Francisco, and which
has proved of such high value, and an
object of such great interest in that city.
Those collections are reproductions OF
ell forms in skeleton and otherwise OF
animate beings, and of animals illustrat-
inq the chief lines of life on tie globe in
the various ages. Also models of fishes,
boasts. birds. examples of conchology,
geological models of the earth's crust,
Examples of plant and tree growth and
development, of mineral and other de-
sits and formation, and host of other
o5,cational object lessons, are all pre-
.,orod with such accuracy and attention
to detail that only experts can detect them
from the originals.
Nearly all museums OF Importance
80 these reproductions, since there can
- hrt few originals. and in many cases
10 originals. In recent years these re-
.5,,otions are made at greatly reduced
so that what once cost $4,000 can
o,v be had for little over half that sum.
So highly valuable would such mu-
bo in our city building, of such
So. IN our system of school educa-
s,,ob an important addition to the
of attraction of the city that 1t
i0''sI. ,a .oam that in no other educational
s,rootion could some well-to-do citizen
so,,nuch for all time for his town as TO
"o her name to such collection.
s'e - what is now in the Art
.S ,,arv the fine mineralogical collection
- That California examples can with
,,l,,o 1pa local energy be added it would give
ii1'ie - a museum in which the
sao,a. .'',,a,a nsopls would take pride and that