Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-17
Valuable Exhibits.

THE National Museum, one OF the
most popular show places in the
Capital City, which IS thronged with
visitors from every State in the Union,
now has more than 100000 speci-
mems, and last year received SS2,9l2
new specimens Of all kinds-more than
twice the number received the year
previous. Many Of these were recently
exhibited to q House committee. This
increased increment OF material m
Guided the c. F.. Baker insect collection
of 100000 specimens, considered the
finest in existence.
The collections housed in the Ma
tional Museum are great asset 10 the
Government. Recently the Presidents
Bureau of Efficiency called for an esti-
mate Of the value Of these collections,
which was placed at $ll5,OOO,0OO, Dut
this does not mean that the collections
could be duplicated for that sum, nor
for double that sum.
The National Museum has had Its
growth over a period of more than 30
wears, and many of the objects as
sembled during that time are unique.
The National Museum is the deposit
tory of the national collections OF nat
ural history and other similar objects:
The Baker collection Is considered OF
inestimable value TO entomologists work
ing under the Government and else
where throughout the country. DR..
Baker was an American, resident for
many years in the Philippines. He died
about year and a half ago. His
collection covers not only the Philip
pines, but all Malayan countries.
AS an example of the wide range
of subjects covered In the specimens re-
ceived each year, it may be mentioned
that the museum receives sets Of the
new issues Of stamps from the Post
Office Department. During the last
year it was given the airplane Spirit of
st. Louis, in which Lindbergh made
his epochal fight: an aboriginal stone
hoe made Of ebert. which comes from
Nebraska and is fashioned after the
shoulder blade of a buffalo.
The late Secretary of the Smith
sonian Institution, Charles d. Walcott,
made extensive research in paleontology,
particularly with the triiobiteS. The
National Museum recently received what
is considered matchleSs specimen Of
this group, a crustacean-like animal, OF
group now extinct. that fiourtshed In
tremendous numbers from pre-Cam-
brian times on up to the Snurian;;. The
new specimen Is Silurian. a fossil. and
of computation, its age is estimated at
100000 years.
With the Roebling collection Of min
erals and gems several years ago the
National Museum received an endow-
ment for purchase of additional speci-
mems. AS a recent accession from this
source the museum acquired two extra
ordinary samples Of quartz. one yellow
a citirine from Brazil-and the other
blue. an amethyst from South Carolina.
Another interesting new acquisition
Is nugget Of platinum from South
America. one of the largest nuggets of
that metal ever found. 1t weighs 10
and fraction ounces, avoirdupois, and
cost approximately 81 500.
Last Summer the museum had a
party Of men on st. Lawrence Island,
in Bering Sea. excavating at an old
village site. This area is Of great I'M
portance historically. because archeol-
ogiSts say that man came to America
across Bering Sea st. Lawrence Island
Is presumably one Of the stepping stones
used by early man.