Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-01

Tomorrow the authorities OK the Smith
sonian Institution WIN open tho new Ma
tional museum TO the public. with its ten
acres OF floor space, every foot Of which
is splendidly lighted. few museums In the
world are so we'll housed. The new struc-
ture makes the third Of the Smithsonian
National museum group. and together they
give approximately twenty acres OF floor
space to the cause Of science and the
spread Of knowledge.
The 10000 objects which constitute the
National museum collections will be dis
tributed among the three buildings, but all
OF those which are chiefly Of interest for
exhibition purposes will be housed in the
new building, The museum, while literally
filled With exhibits OF interest to the lay
men confines its principal activities toward
making an institution Of research. Scarcely
a week passes without several students
from a distance going over its collections
for study purposes. It's collections soon will
be so complete that the most serious In
vestigator will find all the material he
seeks.
The division Of geology affords a strik-
ing Illustration of this. Here is gathered
the worlds best collection OF economic
geology specimens. In the thirty years
NAAAN go ANAAhA mas NOAllAtGAGu Will
this work he has ransacked the whole
world for materials. and there are now
more than 10000 separately catalogued
specimens in his division. Hundreds of
cases, each with hundreds Of wide. shallow
drawers. contain thousands Of specimens,
each specimen a page in the great book Of
nature, rich In lessons for the student Of
geological subjects. Perhaps less than one
thlrtleth Of the specimens are on exhibit
tion.
The collection of meteorites is one of the
list in the world, the largest being at
Vienna. While for show purposes the coll
lection at the American Museum Of Ma
tural History in New York, takes first
rank, the kinds Of specimens which are
most valuable for study purposes are to be
found at the National museum. Scientists
refer to exhibition collections as the "oh
my" exhibits. The main effort OF the Ma
tional museum has been to gather such
meteorites as will enable scientists to de-
termine the secret Of their origin and
travels.
The exhibit OF extinct animals is full Of
interest, but here again museums OF other
cities have advantages over the National
museum in that they have more responsive
sources than congress for funds with which
to acquire new material Of this nature.
one may see the skeletons OF giant
d~inosaur and other mighty monsters OF
pfehistoric times. gathered from American
excavations. Had a Roosevelt lived In
America some cons ago he would not have
had to 20 half way around the world to
find elephants and other giant creatures
for his sport. II Is DR.. Merrill's firm con-
that millions OF elephants once
roamed over our soil as did the bison at
n later date, AS exhibit No, !, by way Of
proof, he has the skeleton Of a gigantic
old fellow, which was unearthed in a
Michigan p~eat-bog some years ago. This
skeleton Is mounted and makes those OF
African elephants look like pygmies in con-
trast.
The collections OF the division Of mammals
are Of rare interest. From an exhibition
standpoint such exhibits as the Roosevelt
trophies take nrst rank, but from a scienti-
fio standpoint such collections as those
made by DR.. Abbott in the East indies
are Of prime value. 1t Is said that there
are some 5000 know species Of mammals
In the world, Of which some 100 inhabit
America, but new species are being
described at the rate OF about $50 a year.