< Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 75.djvu
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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY

friends suggested that he rent Philosophical Hall. This the society allowed him to do, making him curator and librarian. In describing the moving of the collection he writes:

To take advantage of public curiosity, I contrived to make a very considerable parade of the articles, especially those which were large. As boys are generally very fond of parade, I collected all the boys of the neighborhood. At the head of the parade was carried on men's shoulder's, the American buffalo, the panthers, tiger cats; and a long string of animals carried by the boys. The parade from Lombard Street to the Hall brought all the inhabitants to their doors and windows to see the cavalcade. It was fine fun for the boys. They were willing to work in such a novel removal and saved me some expense in moving the delicate articles.

Governor Mifflin allowed Peale to fence in part of the State House Garden so as to make a place to keep living animals. Speaking of this, Peale said:

The cages and animals kept in the yard amused the public much, but was supported with some expense; yet it was a necessary appendage to the museum, as animals that had not come to their full growth are not fit subjects to be preserved, except when some of the young are to be placed with their parents to form family groups, as pictures of the manners of animals.

Notwithstanding legends to the contrary, this was the only zoological garden that Peale ever attempted to form, it being but a temporary expedient.

It was not Peale's practise to sell his duplicate specimens; but wherever opportunity offered he would exchange. In this way he was soon in communication with the various museums of Europe and from his letters I find that he sent many specimens to the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, to the British Museum, to the Royal Society of Sweden, and many others scattered over Europe.

It must be remembered that during much of this time Europe was at war. Privateers scoured the seas, which made many letters go astray and caused many cases of specimens to be lost. Notwithstanding these troubles he mentions receiving an orang-outang and a "Platipus," and many other beasts from all over the world. "Now to show all these things to advantage," said Peale, "required judgment as well as a tasteful disposition of them to be pleasing to the eye as well as useful to enquiring visitors." In classifying animals he followed Linnæus. In fact he was such an admirer of Linnæus that he named one of his children after the great Swede. He used Button's work to identify the specimens. However, as one would expect in a new country that had been visited by but few naturalists, much of the material gathered by Peale would be classed as "non-descripts." To these Peale gave a common name but did not describe. It fell to the labors of Wilson, Say and other Philadelphia naturalists who followed to describe those animals. As arranged in the cases each animal had on it a label that gave the English, French and (when one had been given to it) Latin name.

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