Evening star., 1903-10-23
A NOTABLE EXHIBIT
Scientific Treasures to Be Sent
to st. Louis.
FOSSILS AND MINERALS
COLLECTION MADE BY SMITH
SoNIAN INSTITUTION.
Will Be Placed in the Government
Building at the Louisiana Pur-
chase Exposition.

200 feet having been set apart for this pur-
pose
In a central position surrounded by the
various bureaus that are under its drec-
tion will be the exhibit of the Smithsonian
institution in which will be shown the
memorials of the founder, James Smithson,
portraits of the secretaries and chancellors
the great series of publicatio on which
its fame so largely rests, and objects and
books indicating how the Smithsonian fund
has been and Is being expended in promot-
ing research. Although every bureau rep
resenting the Smithsonian will be repre-
Sented, the National Museum, on account
of its great resources, and special facilities
for this kind of work will make the princi-
pal exhibit
Geological Exhibit.
DR.. Geo. p Merrill, head curator of the
department of geology of the National Mu-
scum, is organizing the exhibit of his de-
partment, with the assistance of his scien-
tic staff. Probably the most striking OBJ
ject of the exhibit of this department will
be the restoration of the remarkable ex-
tlnct reptile known as stegasaur, which is
not unlike a huge horned toad. having a
double row Of large, fiat spines along its
tail 1t was about twenty-five feet long
and with this creature Will also be shown
the singular reptile triceratops, which was
Shlipittu dl lle iouldlO tHlOSlUOn. Many
visitors to that exposition confounded the
triceratops with the mastodon and in or
der to correct this false IMPRESSION as we'll
as for general interest, there will be ex-
hibited a skeleton of the mastodon and by
its side one of the elephant
Another extremely interesting exhibit
VIII be a collection of meteorites and casts
of the largest of these bodies that are
known. the largest of which exceeds twen-
" feet in length and weighs many tons
Visitors to the exposition will have the
unique opportunity to see the largest
masses that have ever, during the course of
history, fallen from the sky. Quite as in
tereStlng, and far more brilliant will be
the collection of minerals, which will in
clude the most beautiful kinds from all
parts of the world. This exhibit will be
supplemented by two other collections
showing forms of silica and of carbonate of
calcium. If these sound uninteresting If is
but necessary to remember that Quartz
agateS and large variety of other beau
uful stones are all forms of silica. The
variety of exquisite coloring and remarka-
Die formations is equally great in the car
Donate of calcium
The forests Of past ages will be represent
ed by tree trunks from the pctriiied forests
of Arizona and Montana and samples of
the tree ferns which were so chara cteristic
a feature of the vegetation of ages before
the advent of man on the earth Visitors
VIII be shown how the composition of rocks
Is studied by scientists, fiat pieces being
placed on exhibition. thinner than the thin
nest paper" according to DR.. True, "and
showing the most beautiful colors."
The Biological Display.
The exhibit of the department of biology
will be prepared under the direction of Dr
True, end probably the most striking object
of this exhibit Will be the whale, seventy
five feet in length. which will occupy
central space. In connection with this it is
interesting to know that the animals ara
constructed on a wire and wood frame and
afterWard covered with papier mache
which is made from the macerated bank
notes that have been redeemed and de-
stroyed by the government. incalculable
millions of mcney being therefore used in
their construction. Large game from all
parts of the world will be shown. including
such animals as the rhinoceros. lion.
giraffe, eland and various other animals of
the antelope species; the moose, caribou,
reindeer red deer. sambur and other large
deer, wild goats, sheep and the like. They
Will be as perfe t examples of the art of
modern taXidern.y experts can make,
and to all intents and purposes might be
the living creatures.
From the vast group of birds those that
have a popular interest will be selected
such as small game birds. the wonderful
birds of paradise. gorgeous pheaSants, and
Vultures, ostriches, cassowaries and the
like.
A splendid group of deep-sea fishes will
be exhibited, but owing to the small size
of these fishes the models will be large
than life, and sharks and other huge fishes
Will be shown with these groteSque forms
flom the depths of the sea.
Reptiles Will be exhibited largely. and
those that are known generally by name
only in this country will have the pref
erence. They will be the python from the
PHILIPPINE Islands. the anaconda from
South America, the famous Indian COBRA
the deadliest snake known. thousands of
people being killed every year by them in
India: fat-tailed sea snakes from the In
dian ocean the African viper, crOckodiles,
aligators and the like
The most beautiful feature of the eX-
hibt will undoubtedly be the collection of
butterflies. They will include the large
and brilliant insects from the American
tropics and from the Old world Other in
vertebrates will be shown in systematic
order to illustrate the methods of the
museum in their preservation and install
lation.