The Collections of Naturalistic Department

Educated as an archaeologist, Milleker started thinking of forming some other departments from the very first moment of the founding of the Museum, in 1882. The naturalistic collection was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. According to the saved data it is obvious that it was intensively gathered between 1906 and 1916. After 1940 a very little, amount of material was included into the collection, for the Museum was directed towards archaeology.

Milleker accepted the suggestions from his counsellors from Budapest and Timisoara and gathered around himself the best naturalists of this part of Europe: Jenö Bernatsky, Alphred Bernatsky (both botanists), Rudolf Milleker - palaeontologist, then famous volcanist (Felix Millekers son), Dionisie Lintia - ornithologist and Sc.D. Milleker was a member of Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences himself.

There are no precise data about the arrival of the first specimens into the collection, for one part of the documentation and inventory lists disappeared during the Second World War. In some collections, specially - palaeontological there are no bibliography leaflets, most frequently there were paper tags with the data that came off as the time passed or the information completely faded away. We should also add here that the Museum has no curator who would lead the Naturalistic Department.

The Naturalistic Department consists of three collections:

•geologically-palaeontological
•botanical
•zoological

Geologically-palaeontological Collection was formed by Rudolf Milleker and the objects were found mostly in southern and middle Banat and the southern part of Romanian Banat. Just few pieces of minerals originate from the mine in Resica. The palaeontological material consists of larger number of mammoth's bones (two whole lower jaws) and a few hundred fossils of palaeoflora and fauna. Unfortunately, this part of the Naturalistic Department does not have full documentation.

In this collection there are three side views of water-wells from the vicinity of Vrsac, together with Petrographic collection from Vrsac Hills. By terrain researches in 1958 and 1950, the material was gathered by means of which one can set the geological age of layer. Sorting out palaeontological material has also started from few sites, but at the same time started systematic studying of geology and palaeontology of Vojvodina.

Nevertheless, the two most complete and at the same time the most important collections are the botanical one with a few herbariums and the ornithological collection. The botanical collection is represented by herbarium "Bernatsky". made between 1910 and 1916, three notebooks of Herba Panonica, a collection of sorts of grapevine and a few modern herbariums.

The name of the most important herbarium was given after Milleker s collaborator and gatherer Sc.D Jend Bernatsky professor of Budapest University . The herbarium enumerates 378 inventory specimens with 221 vegetable species. They originate from six different sites and are very well preserved. Bernatsky did not manage to systemize it, he was probably distracted by the First World War. The systematization was done together with the repeated inventory by professor Sucevic in 1952. The herbarium is stored in 11 large boxes, i.e. 27 notebooks one of which includes the sorts of grapevine.

The material was gathered from the sites of southern Banat (implies and Romanian part). Vrsac Hills are relatively poorly represented, but no matter to that, the herbarium is of great importance not only for the region of Vojvodina, but even wider. For its great importance and its age it has been put under the protection of state of the first level. Furthermore, it becomes accessible to scientific workers; it serves as a comparative material, but also as a base for further floristic research of this part of Banat .

The Zoological Collection is represented by mammals and birds. The collection of mammals is smaller but with representative specimens. It is typical fauna of southern Banat . In the European proportions it is almost unknown that on such small region live even two largish populations of wolves (Canis lupus). Both sites are famous for their specific features (Vrsac Hills and Deliblat sands). The collection is represented by a few tens of specimens, i.e. 11 species (wolf, wild cat, skunk, pine marten, badger, mole rat and some other).

The Ornithological Collection was formed between 1906 and 1Q911 and was expanded by not so large number of specimens between the two wars. Excellent taxidermists and experts on birds worked on the collection: Anton Schwabl, Peter Koschl and Gyula Fischer. Dionisie Lintia managed the collection, who was a professor at Timisoara University , later on the section head of the ornithological department of Timisoara Museum of Banat. The same taxidermists worked on Timisoara collection, and larger number of the most representative specimens was taken to Timisoara in the same way as the archeo-logical material.

In the region of Bela Crkva (the internal zone of the Museum in Vrsac) K. Linchart and A. Litachorsky worked together, very good experts on birds. But the only thing that is known is that they had to send certain number of stuffed birds to the Museum in Budapest , where they worked as collaborators.

The ornithological collections in Vrsac and Timisoara can be watched as one entity, for they were formed in the same period, mostly the birds were gathered in the same region, they were systemized and prepared by the same people. We should point out here that the collection in Timisoara is much richer. Dionisie Lintia also made a very important oological collection, and the one that is in Timisoara Museum of Banat is the richer one. Unfortunately, the collection in Vrsac was partly damaged because it was frequently moved from one place to another and the material is very sensitive.

Milleker informed country zoological supervisor in Budapest and asked him for help. He asked him to send 300 crowns, i.e. the amount of money the collection was evaluated. Lintia handed over the

collection of 99 nests and 405 birds' eggs, promising he was going to go on obtaining the oological material. The following year, 1911 he handed over 18 nests and 67 eggs and asked for them 47 crowns and 42 phillers. Many years later, in 1943 Lintia was in Vrsac again and during that visit made a present of several stuffed birds and a few eggs.

In the collection there are very rare samples of birds that can not be met in this region any more: Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus), White-tailed Eagle (Haliaetus albicilla), The Imperial Eagle (Aquilia heliaca), Golden Eagle (Aquilia chrysaetos), Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug), Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo), Great Bustard (Otis tarda) and many other.

The bibliography leaflets have been kept very neatly with all necessary data. Both the Naturalistic Museum from Belgrade and the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Nature from Novi Sad did the revision of the collection in the eighties. A new inventory was done together with the determination with new professional terms.

The Entomological Collection used to exist, but it perished during the Second World War, partly because of the material whose duration is limited. The collection was gathered by Kurt Hauser, a teacher from Vrsac, in the period from 1936 to 1940. It enumerated about 800 specimens, and according to the saved data the most frequent were Coleopterae and Lepidopterae, but also a small number of African Coleopterae without any data.

There are 35 jars, relatively preserved, with formalin, in which mostly fish and reptiles are kept, and among them, there is a unique one in this region black common viper (Vipera berus var. prester)

The Naturalistic Department has its permanent exhibition where the most representative parts of Palaeontological and Zoological collections (birds and mammals) are exposed. It is intensively visited, especially by school children.