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EDINBURGH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

In the summer of 1880 the visitor to Brussels enjoyedopportunities of inspecting collections which are not usuallyexhibited to the public, for in that year was held the NationalExhibition commemorating the jubilee of Belgian independence.In it there was a good display of that part of the scientificwealth of the country which was capable of effective exhibition.The extensive semi-public and private collections in variousdepartments of science vied in interest with those of theestablishments permanently maintained in the capital. Thereappeared to be a serious attempt made on the part of theuniversities, learned bodies, and private collectors to bringtogether as full a representation of the organic life of the pastand present of the country as was possible within the limits ofspace assigned to them for that purpose. The collections madeby private persons were especially deserving of note, and inparticular departments were superior to those contained in themajority of public museums. A public museum rarely hasmoney enough to purchase the larger collections as they appearfrom time to time in the market; its funds usually have to beexpended upon specimens belonging to every class of theanimal kingdom, and the fact of its being known to possess arevenue at all (the amount of it is exaggerated in popularestimation) has the effect of stinting private beneficence. It isperhaps worth while to publish a list* of the chief contributorsto this department of the exhibition. It will serve as a nearlycomplete record of the chief learned societies and private collec-tions of Belgium (which is not elsewhere easily procurable),and it will also show in what spirit and by what means bothsocieties and private individuals worked together to make theirdepartment of the exhibition a success.

Universite Hire de Bruxelles. Exhibited under nine heads.Models, charts, scientific apparatus, books, &c.

Universite catholique de Louvain . Publications.

Universite de Gand. Exhibits from the faculties of scienceand medicine. Scientific apparatus, anatomical preparations.Under the latter head was a series of interesting specimensprepared by freezing and preserved dry by the application of anew glycerine method. Model of a laboratory table. Microscopicpreparations, photographs, books.

Federation midicale beige. Publications.

Hcole de medecine viterinaire de V&tat, d Cureghem-Anderlicht.Pathological and anatomical preparations.

j ftcole d’horticulture de I’JSitat a Gand. Herbarium ofindigenous plants. Models of different methods of grafting.Preparations by students.

Arranged from the official catalogue.