and lost at to Embryology. nowed sinuromeo 10809329 The development of the muscular system is partly known from the results of direct observation, and partly inferred from the study of the part of the nervous system whence the innervation is derived. The unstriped muscle is formed from the mesenchyme cells of the somatic and splanchnic layers of the mesoderm (see EMBRYOLOGY), but never, as far as we know, from the mesodermic somites. The heart muscle is also developed from mesenchymal cells, though the changes producing its feebly striped fibres are more complicated. The skeletal or real striped muscles are derived either from the mesodermic somites or from the branchial arches. As the mesodermic somites are placed on each side of the neural canal in the early embryo, it is obvious that the greater part of the trunk musculature spreads gradually round the body from the dorsal to the ventral side and consists of a series of plates called myotomes (fig. 12). The muscle fibres in these plates run in the long axis of the embryo, and are at first separated from those of the two neighbouring plates by thin fibrous intervals called myocommata. In some cases these

Ab

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From A. M. Paterson, Cunningham's Text Book of Anatomy. bwwm tnioj gid FIG. 12.-Scheme to Illustrate the Disposition of the Myotomes

in the Embryo in Relation to the Head, Trunk and Limbs. W A. B, C, First three cephalic myotomes. 12 o esbeum geitslot N, 1, 2, 3, 4, Last persisting cephalic myotomes.iedag og s C, T, L, S, Co., The myotomes of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, Josacral and caudal regions. sulabag bas

I, II, III, IV, V., VI., VII, VIII., IX., X., XI., XII., Refer to ooh the cranial nerves and the structures with which they may be or embryologically associated.6g bar padam 1036703do an to myocommata persist and even become ossified, as in the ribs, but more usually they disappear early, and the myotomes then unite with one another to form a great muscular sheet. In the whole length of the trunk a longitudinal cleavage at right angles to the surface occurs, splitting the musculature into a dorsal and ventral part, supplied respectively by the dorsal and ventral primary divisions of the spinal nerves. From the dorsal part the various muscles of the erector spinae series are derived by further longitudinal cleavages either tangential or at right angles to the surface, while the ventral part is again longitudinally split into mesial and lateral portions. A transverse section of the trunk at this stage, therefore, would show the cut ends of three longitudinal strips of muscle: (1) a mesial ventral, from which the rectus, pyramidalis sterno-hyoid, omohyoid and sterno-thyroid muscles are derived; (2) a lateral ventral, forming the flat muscles of the abdomen, intercostals and part of the sternomastoid and trapezius; and (3) the dorsal portion already noticed. The mesial ventral part is remarkable for the persistence of remnants of myocommata in it, forming the lineae transversae of the rectus and the central tendon of the omo-hyoid. The lateral part in the abdominal region splits tangentially into three layers,

the external and internal oblique and the transversalis, the fibres of which become differently directed. In the thoracic region the intercostals probably indicate a further tangential splitting of the middle or internal oblique layer, because the external oblique is continued headward superficially to the ribs and the transversalis deeply to them. The more cephalic part of the external oblique layer probably disappears by a process of pressure or crowding out owing to the encroachment of the serratus magnus, a muscle which its nerve supply indicates is derived from the lower cervical myotomes. The deeper parts of the lateral mass of muscles spread to the ventral surface of the bodies of the vertebrae, and form the hypaxial muscles-such as the psoas, longus colli and recti capitis antici. The nerve supply indicates that the lowest myotomes taking part in the formation of the abdominal walls are those supplied by the first and second lumbar nerves, and are represented by the cremaster muscle in the scrotum. In the perineum, however, the third and fourth sacral myotomes are represented, and these muscles are differentiated largely from the primitive sphincter which surrounds the cloacal orifice, though partly from vestigial tail muscles (see P. Thompson, Journ. Anat. and Phys., vol. xxxv; and R. H. Paramore, Lancet, May 21, 1910). In the head no distinct myotomes have been demonstrated in the mammalian embryo, but as they are present in more lowly vertebrates, it is probable that their development has been slurred over, a process often found in the embryology of the higher forms. Probably nine cephalic myotomes originally existed, of which the first gives rise to the eye muscles supplied by the third nerve, the second to the superior oblique muscle supplied by the fourth nerve, and the third to the external rectus supplied by the sixth nerve. The fourth, fifth and sixth myotomes are suppressed, but the seventh, eighth and ninth possibly form the muscles of the tongue supplied by the twelfth cranial nerve. Turning now to the branchial arches, the first branchiomere is innervated by the fifth cranial nerve, and to it belong the masseter, temporal, pterygoids, anterior belly of the digastric, mylo-hyoid, tensor tympani and tensor palati, while from the second branchiomere, supplied by the seventh or facial nerve, all the facial muscles of expression and the stylo-hyoid and posterior belly of the digastric are derived, as well as the platysma, which is one of the few remnants of the panniculus carnosus or skin musculature of the lower mammals. From the third branchiomere, the nerve of which is the ninth or glossopharyngeal, the stylo-pharyngeus and upper part of the pharyngeal constrictors are formed, while the fourth and fifth gill arches give rise to the muscles of the larynx and the lower part of the constrictors supplied by the vagus or tenth nerve. It is possible that parts of the sterno-mastoid and trapezius are also branchial in their origin, since they are supplied by the spinal accessory or eleventh nerve, but this is unsettled. The limb musculature is usually regarded as a sleeve-like outpushing of the external oblique stratum of the lateral ventral musculature of the trunk, and it is believed that parts of several myotomes are in this way pushed out in the growth of the limb bud. This process actually occurs in the lower vertebrates, and the nerve supplies provide strong presumptive evidence that this is the real phylogenetic history of the higher forms, though direct observation shows that the limb muscles of mammals are formed from the central mesoderm of the limb and at first are quite distinct from the myotomes of the trunk. A possible explanation of the difficulty is that this is another example of the slurring over of stages in phylogeny, but this is one of many obscure morpho logical points. The muscles of each limb are divided into a dorsal and ventral series, supplied by dorsal and ventral secondary divisions of the nerves in the limb plexuses, and these correspond to the original position of the limbs as they grow out from the embryo, so that in the upper extremity the back of the arm, forearm and dorsum of the hand are dorsal, while in the lower the dorsal surface is the front of the thigh and leg and the dorsum of the foot.

For further details see Development of the Human Body, by J. P. McMurrich (London, 1906), and the writings of L. Bolk, Morphol. Jahrb. vols. xxi-xxv.

Comparative Anatomy.

In the acrania (e.g. amphioxus) the simple arrangement of myotomes and myocommata seen in the early human embryo is permanent. The myotomes or muscle plates are < shaped, with their apices pointing towards the head end, each being supplied by its own spinal nerve. In the fishes this arrangement is largely persistent, but each limb of the < is bent on itself, so that the myotomes have now the shape of a the central angle of which corresponds to the lateral line of the fish. In the abdominal region, however, the myotomes fuse and rudiments of the recti and obliqui abdominis muscles of higher types are seen. In other regions too, such as the fins of fish and the tongue of the Cyclostomata (lamprey), specialized muscular bundles are separated off and are coincident with the acquirement of movements of these parts in different directions. In the Amphibia the limb musculature becomes much more complex as the joints are formed, and many of the muscles can be homologized with those of mammals, though this is by no means always the case, while, in the abdominal region, a superficial delamination occurs, so that in many forms a superficial and deep rectus abdominis occurs as well as a cutaneus abdominis delaminated from the external oblique. It is probable that this delamination is the precursor of

the panniculus carnosus or skin musculature of mammals. The branchial musculature also becomes much more complex, and the mylo-hyoid muscle, derived from the first branchial arch and lying beneath the floor of the mouth, is very noticeable and of great importance in breathing.

In the reptiles further differentiation of the muscles is seen, and with the acquirement of costal respiration the external and internal intercostals are formed by a delamination of the internal oblique stratum. In the dorsal region several of the longitudinal muscles which together make up the erector spinae are distinct, and a very definite sphincter cloacae is formed round and cloacal aperture. In mammals certain muscles vary in their attachments or presence and absence in different orders, sub-orders and families, so that, were it not for the large amount of technical knowledge required in recognizing them, they might be useful from a classificatory point of view. There is, however, a greater gap between the musculature of Man and that of the other Primates than there is between many different orders, and this is usually traceable either directly or indirectly to the assumption of the erect position.

The chief causes which produce changes of musculature are: (1) splitting, (2) fusion, (3) suppression either partial or complete, (4) shifting of origin, (5) shifting of insertion, (6) new formation, (7) transference of part of one muscle to another. In many of these cases the nerve supply gives an important clue to the change which has been effected. Splitting of a muscular mass is often the result of one part of a muscle being used separately, and a good example of this is the deep flexor mass of the forearm. In the lower mammals this mass rises from the flexor surface of the radius and ulna, and supplies tendons to the terminal phalanges of all five digits, but in man the thumb is used separately, and, in response to this, that part of the mass which goes to the thumb is completely split off into a separate muscle, the flexor longus pollicis. The process, however, is going farther, for we have acquired the habit of using our index finger alone for many purposes, and the index slip of the flexor profundus digitorum is in us almost as distinct a muscle as the flexor longus pollicis. Fusion may be either collateral or longitudinal. The former is seen in the case of the flexor carpi ulnaris. In many mammals (eg. the dog), there are two muscles inserted separately into the pisiform bone, one rising from the internal condyle of the humerus, the other from the olecranon process, but in many others (e.g. man) the two muscles have fused. Longitudinal fusion is seen in the digastric, where the anterior belly is part of the first (mandibular) branchial arch and the posterior of the second or hyoid arch; in this case, as one would expect, the anterior belly is supplied by the fifth nerve and the posterior by the seventh. Partial suppression of a muscle is seen in the rhomboid sheet; in the lower mammals this rises from the head, neck and anterior (cephalic) thoracic spines, but in man the head and most of the neck part is completely sup pressed. Complete suppression of a muscle is exemplified in the omo-trachelian, a muscle which runs from the cervical vertebrae to the acromian process and fixes the scapula for the strong action of the triceps in pronograde mammals; in man this strong action of the triceps is no longer needed for progression, and the fixing muscle has disappeared. Shifting of origin is seen in the short head of the biceps femoris. This in many lower mammals (e.g. rabbit) is a muscle running from the tail to the lower leg; in many others (e.g. monkeys and man) the origin has slipped down to the femur, and in the great anteater it is evident that the agitator caudae has been used as a muscle slide, because the short head of the biceps or tenuissimus has once been found rising from the surface of this muscle. Shitting of an insertion is not nearly as common as shifting of an origin; it is seen, however, in the peroneus tertius of man, in which part of the extensor longus digitorum has acquired a new attachment to the base of the fifth metatarsal bone. The new formation of a muscle is seen in the stylo-hyoideus alter, an occasional human muscle; in this the stylo-hyoid ligament has been converted into a muscle. The transference of part of one muscle to another is well shown by the human adductor magnus; here the fibres which pass from the tuber ischii to the condyle of the femur have a nerve supply from the great sciatic instead of the obturator, and in most lower mammals are a separate part of the hamstrings known as the presemimembranosus.

reichs; "The Muscles of Mammals," by F. G. Parsons, Jour. Anal. For further details see Bronn's Classen und Ordnungen des Thier and Phys. xxxii. 428; also accounts of the musculature of mammals, by Windle and Parsons, in Proc. Zool. Soc. (1894, seq.); Humphry, Observations in Myology (1874). (F. G. P.)

MUSES, THE (Gr. Movoa, the thinkers), in Greek mythology, originally nymphs of springs, then goddesses of song, and, later, of the different kinds of poetry and of the arts and sciences generally. In Homer, who says nothing definite as to their names or number, they are simply goddesses of song, who dwell among the gods on Olympus, where they sing at their banquets (Theog. 77), who first gives the usually accepted names and under the leadership of Apollo Musagetes. According to Hesiod number, they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the personification of memory; others made them children of

Uranus and Gaea. Three older Muses (Mneme, Melete, Aoide) were sometimes distinguished, whose worship was said to have been introduced by the Aloidae on Mt Helicon (Pausanias ix. 29). It is probable that three was the original number of the Muses, which was increased to nine owing to their arrangement in three groups of three in the sacred choruses. Round the altar of Zeus they sing of the origin of the world, of gods and men, of the glorious deeds of Zeus; they also honour the great heroes; and celebrate the marriages of Cadmus and Peleus, and the death of Achilles. As goddesses of song they protect those who recognize their superiority, but punish the arrogant-such as Thamyris, the Thracian bard, who for having boasted himself their equal was deprived of sight and the power of song. From their connexion with Apollo and their original nature as inspiring nymphs of springs they also possess the gift of prophecy. They are closely related to Dionysus, to whose festivals dramatic poetry owed its origin and development. The worship of the Muses had two chief seats-on the northern slope of Mt Olympus in Pieria, and on the slope of Mt Helicon near Ascra and Thespiae in Boeotia. Their favourite haunts were the springs of Castalia, Aganippe and Hippocrene. From Boeotia their cult gradually spread over Greece. As the goddesses who presided over the nine principal departments of letters, their names and attributes were: Calliope, epic poetry (wax tablet and pencil); Euterpe, lyric poetry (the double flute); Erato, erotic poetry (a small lyre); Melpomene, tragedy (tragic mask and ivy wreath); Thalla, comedy (comic mask and ivy wreath); Polyhymnia (or Polymuia), sacred hymns (veiled, and in an attitude of thought); Terpsichore, choral song and the dance (the lyre); | Clio, history (a scroll); Urania, astronomy (a celestial globe). To these Arethusa was added as the muse of pastoral poetry. The Roman poets identified the Greek Muses with the Italian Camenae (or Casmenae), prophetic nymphs of springs and goddesses of birth, who possessed a grove near the Porta Capena at Rome. One of the most famous of these was Egeria, the counsellor of King Numa.

See H. Deiters, Ueber die Verchrung der Musen bei den Griechen (1868); P. Decharme, Les Muses (1869); J. H. Krause, Die Musen (1871); F. Rödiger, Die Musen (1875); O. Navarre in Daremberg and Saglio's Dictionnaire des antiquités, and O. Bie in Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologie, the latter chiefly for representations of the Muses in art.

MUSET, COLIN (A. 1200), French trouvère, was poet and musician, and made his living by wandering from castle to castle singing his own songs. These are not confined to the praise of the conventional love that formed the usual topic of the trouvères, but contain many details of a singer's life. Colin shows naïve gratitude for presents in kind from his patrons, and recommends a poet repulsed by a cruel mistress to find consolation in the bons morceaux qu'on mange devant un grand feu. One of his patrons was Agnès de Bar, duchess of Lorraine (d. 1226).

See Hist. litt. de la France, xxiii. 547-553; also a thesis, De Nicolas Muselo (1893), by J. Bédier.

MUSEUMS OF ART. The later 19th century was remarkable for the growth and development of museums, both in Great Britain and abroad. This growth, as Professor Stanley Jevons predicted, synchronizes with the advancement of education. Public museums are now universally required; old institutions have been greatly improved, and many new ones have been founded. The British parliament has passed statutes conferring upon local authorities the power to levy rates for library and museum purposes, while on the continent of Europe the collection and exhibition of objects of antiquity and art has become a recognized duty of the state and municipality alike.

A sketch of the history of museums in general is given below, under MUSEUMS OF SCIENCE. The modern museum of art differs essentially from its earlier prototypes. The aimless collection of curiosities and bric-a-brac, brought together without method ' Under the term "museum" (Gr. povolov, temple of the muses) we accept the ordinary distinction, by which it covers a collection of all sorts of art objects, while an art gallery (q.v.) confines itself practically to pictures.

|

or system, was the feature of certain famous collections in bygone days, of which the Tradescant Museum, formed in the 17th century, was a good example. This museum was a miscellany without didactic value; it contributed nothing to the advancement of art; its arrangement was unscientific, and the public gained little or no advantage from its existence. The modern museum, on the other hand, should be organized for the public good, and should be a fruitful source of amusement and instruction to the whole community. Even when Dr Waagen described the collections of England, about 1840, private individuals figured chiefly among the owners of art treasures. Nowadays in making a record of this nature the collections belonging to the public would attract most attention. This fact is becoming more obvious every year. Not only are acquisitions of great value constantly made, but the principles of museum administration and development are being more closely defined. What Sir William Flower, an eminent authority, called the "new museum idea" (Essays on Museums, p. 37) is pervading the treatment of all the chief museums of the world. Briefly stated, the new principle of museum development-first enunciated in 1870, but now beginning to receive general support-is that the first aim of public collections shall be education, and their second recreation. To be of teaching value, museum arrangement and classification must be carefully studied. Acquisitions must be added to their proper sections; random purchase of "curios" must be avoided. Attention must be given to the proper display and cataloguing of the exhibits, to their housing and preservation, to the lighting, comfort and ventilation of the galleries. Furthermore, facilities must be allowed to those who wish to make special study of the objects on view. "A museum is like a living organism: it requires continual and tender care; it must grow, or it will perish" (Flower, p. 13).

Great progress has been made in the classification of objects, a highly important branch of museum work. There are three possible systems-namely, by date, by material and Classifica by nationality. It has been found possible to tion. combine the systems to some extent; for instance, in the ivory department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London, where the broad classification is by material, the objects being further subdivided according to their age, and in a minor degree according to their nationality. But as yet there is no general preference of one system to another. Moreover, the principles of classification are not easily laid down; e.g. musical instruments: should they be included in art exhibits or in the ethnographical section to which they also pertain? Broadly speaking, objects must be classified according to the quality (apart from their nature) for which they are most remarkable. Thus a musket or bass viol of the 16th century, inlaid with ivory and highly decorated, would be properly included in the art section, whereas a common flute or weapon, noteworthy for nothing but its interest as an instrument of music or destruction, would be suitably classified as ethnographic. In England, at any rate, there is no uniformity of practice in this respect, and though it is to be hoped that the ruling desire to classify according to strict scientific rules may not become too prevalent, it would nevertheless be a distinct advantage if, in one or more of the British muscums, some attempt were made to illustrate the growth of domestic arts and crafts according to classification by date. Examples of this classification in Munich, Amsterdam, Basel, Zürich and elsewhere afford excellent lessons of history and art, a series of rooms being fitted up to show in chronological order the home life of our ancestors. In the National Museum of Bavaria (Munich) there is a superb suite of rooms illustrating the progress of art from Merovingian times down to the 19th century. Thus classification, though studied, must not check the elasticity of art muscums; it should not be allowed to interfere with the mobility of the exhibits-that is to say, it should always be possible to withdraw specimens for the to other museums and schools of art-an invaluable system long closer inspection of students, and also to send examples on loan in vogue at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and one which should be still more widely adopted. An axiom of museum law

is that the exhibits shall be properly shown. "The value of a museum is to be tested by the treatment of its contents (Flower, p. 24). But in many museums the chief hindrance to study and enjoyment is overcrowding of exhibits. Although a truism, it is necessary to state that each object should be properly seen, cleaned and safeguarded; but all over the world this rule is forgotten. The rapid acquisition of objects is one cause of overcrowding, but a faulty appreciation of the didactic purpose of the collection is more frequently responsible.

Progress.

In Great Britain, museum progress is satisfactory. Visitors are numbered by millions, access is now permitted on Sundays and week-days alike, and entrance fees are being conGrowth and sistently reduced; in this the contrast between Great Britain and some foreign countries is singular. A generation or so ago the national collections of Italy used to be always open to the public. Pay-days, however, were gradually established, with the result that the chief collections are now only visible without payment on Sundays. In Dresden payment is obligatory five days a week. The British Museum never charges for admission. On the other hand, the increase in continental collections is more rapid than in Great Britain, where acquisitions are only made by gift, purchase or bequest. In other European countries enormous collections have been obtained by revolutions and conquest, by dynastic changes, and by secularizing religious foundations. Some of the chief treasures of provincial museums in France were spoils of the Napoleonic armies, though the great bulk of this loot was returned in 1815 to the original owners. In Italy the conversion of a monastery into a museum is a simple process, the Dominican house of San Marco in Florence offering a typical example. A further stimulus to the foundation of museums on the continent is the comparative ease with which old buildings are obtained and adapted for the collections. Thus the Germanisches Museum of Nuremberg is a secularized church and convent; the enormous collections belonging to the town of Ravenna are housed in an old Camaldulensian monastery. At Louvain and Florence municipal palaces of great beauty are used; at Nimes a famous Roman temple; at Urbino the grand ducal palace, and so on. There are, however, certain disadvantages in securing both building and collection ready-made, and the special care devoted to museums in Great Britain can be traced to the fact that their cost to the community is considerable. Immense sums have been spent on the buildings alone, nearly a million sterling being devoted to the new buildings for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Had it been possible to secure them without such an outlay the collections themselves would have been much increased, though in this increase itself there would have been a danger, prevalent but not yet fully realized in other countries, of crowding the vacant space with specimens of inferior quality. The result is that fine things are badly seen owing to the masses of second-rate examples; moreover, the ample space available induces the authorities to remove works of art from their original places, in order to add them to the muscums. Thus the statue of St George by Donatello has been taken from the church of Or San Michele at Florence (on the plea of danger from exposure), and is now placed in a museum where, being dwarfed and under cover, its chief artistic value is lost. The desire to make financial profit from works of art is a direct cause of the modern museum movement in Italy. One result is to displace and thus depreciate many works of art, beautiful in their original places, but quite insignificant when put into a museum. Another result is that, owing to high entrance fees, the humbler class of Italians can rarely see the art treasures of their own country. There are other collections, akin to art museums, which would best be called biographical museums. They illustrate the life and work of great artists or authors. Of these the most notable are the museums commemorating Dürer at Nuremberg, Beethoven at Bonn, Thorwaldsen at Copenhagen, Shakespeare at Stratford and Michelangelo at Florence. The sacristies of cathedrals often contain ecclesiastical objects of great value, and are shown to the public as museums. Cologne, Aachen, Milan, Monza and Reims have famous treasuries. Many Italian cathedrals have

small muscums attached to them, usually known as "Opera del Duomo."

British Musoum.

United Kingdom.-The influence and reputation of the British Muscum are so great that its original purpose, as stated in the preamble of the act by which it was founded (1753, c. 22), may be quoted: "Whereas all arts and sciences have a connexion with each other, and discoveries in natural philosophy and other branches of speculative knowledge, for the advancement and improvement whereof the said museum or collection was intended, do, or may in many instances give help and success to the most useful experiments and undertakings..." The "said museum" above mentioned referred to the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, to be purchased under the act just quoted. Sir Hans Sloane is therein stated, "through the course of many years, with great labour and expense, to have gathered together whatever could be procured, either in our own or foreign countries, that was rare and curious." In order to buy his collections and found the muscum a lottery of £300,000 was authorized, divided into 50,000 tickets, the prizes varying from £10 to £10,000. Provision was made for the adequate housing of Sir Robert Cotton's books, already bought in 1700 (12 and 13 Will. III. c. 7). This act secured for the nation the famous Cottonian manuscripts, "of great use and service for the knowledge and preservation of our constitution, both in church and state." Sir Robert's grandson had preserved the collection with great care, and was willing that it should not be disposed of or embeziled," and that it should be preserved for public use and advantage. This act also sets forth the oath to be sworn by the keeper, and deals with the appointment of trustees. This is still the method of internal government at the British Museum, and additions to the Board of Trustees are made by statute, as in 1824, in acknowledgment of a bequest. The trustees are of three classes: (a) three principal trustees, namely the Primate, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker; (b) general trustees, entitled ex officio to the position in virtue of ministerial office; (c) family, bequest and nominated trustees. A standing committee of the trustees meets regularly at the museum for the transaction of business. The great departments of the museum (apart from the scientific and zoological collections, now placed in the museum in Cromwell Road, South Kensington) are of printed books, MSS., Oriental books, prints and drawings, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, British and medieval antiquities, coins and medals. Each of these eight departments is under a keeper, with an expert staff of subordinates, the head executive officer of the whole museum being styled director and chief librarian. The museum has been enriched by bequests of great importance, especially in the library. Recent legacies have included the porcelain bequeathed by Sir Wollaston Franks, and the valuable collection of works of art (chiefly enamels and gold-smithery) known as the Waddesdon bequest-a legacy of Baron F. de Rothschild. The most important group of acquisition by purchase in the history of the museum is the series of Greek sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles, bought by act of parliament (56 Geo. III. c. 99).

Education.

There are four national museums controlled by the Board of Education, until recently styled the Department of Science and Art. The chief of these is the Victoria and Albert Museums of Museum at South Kensington. This museum has a the Board of dependency at Bethnal Green, the Dublin and Edinburgh museums having been now removed from its direct charge. There is also a museum of practical geology in Jermyn Street, containing valuable specimens of pottery and majolica. The Victoria and Albert Museum owed its inception to the Exhibition of 1851, from the surplus funds of which 12 acres of land were bought in South Kensington. First known as the Department of Practical Art, the museum rapidly established itself on a broad basis. Acquisitions of whole collections and unique specimens were accumulated. In 1857 the Sheepshanks gallery of pictures was presented; in 1879 the India Office transferred to the department the collection of Oriental art formerly belonging to the East India Company; in 1882 the Jones bequest of French furniture and decorative art (1740-1810) was received;