EEPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1915. 73 



Further studies on the botany of the cottons and related plants by 

 the curator, Mr. F. L. Lewton, resulted in the publication of a tech- 

 nical paper on the so-called Australian cottons, which is cited in 

 the bibliography. 



A special exhibition of living silkworms, feeding on mulberry 

 leaves and forming their cocoons, was held in one of the large halls, 

 having for its object the instruction of the public and the prepara- 

 tion of a new exhibit for the silk section. It was continued during 

 a month and attracted much attention. Many groups of children 

 from the public and private schools of the city were given talks on 

 the textile collections. Several classes from the National School of 

 Domestic Arts and Science in Washington also came to the Museum 

 at regular intervals during the winter and siDring months for lec- 

 tures and demonstrations on the principles of spinning and weaving 

 by the curator, who likewise arranged a lecture demonstration for a 

 class of 20 young ladies from the National Park Seminary at Forest 

 Glen, Md. 



The plans suggested for the building up of the textile collections, 

 as outlined in the last two reports, are being carried out in the main. 

 Among matters to which early attention is proposed are the follow- 

 ing : The illustration of the historical and industrial development of 

 spinning, winding and weaving by means of models ; the installation 

 of certain important and fundamental devices used in the textile 

 industry, such as the Jacquard machine, silk reeling apparatus, small 

 embroidering machine, circular knitting machine, bobbin winding 

 machine, warp drawing and tying machine ; means for operating, in 

 public view, the cotton gin, loom, silk reel, spinning frame and other 

 important textile appliances; the j)rocesses of manufacture, dyeing 

 and use of artificial silk; the assembling of a comprehensive exhibit 

 of modern laces, including the best examples of machine-made laces 

 with corresponding types of handwork, and the increase of the col- 

 lection of colonial fabrics and textile appliances; photographic en- 

 largements of photo-microgTaphs of the standard weaves and of pic- 

 tures bearing on the collections, such as cotton picking, sheep grazing 

 and shearing, ostriches on range, feather plucking, etc. It is also 

 designed, as duplicates accumulate, to begin the preparation of sets 

 of specimens illustrating textile raw material, spinning, weaving and 

 standard fabrics for the use of technical schools, whereby the teach- 

 ing of industrial subjects may be generally aided in accordance with 

 the practice so long followed in connection with the natural history 

 collections. 



With respect to miscellaneous animal and vegetable products, it is 

 intended to give special consideration in the near future to the illus- 

 tration on a comprehensive scale of leather working and shoemaking, 

 and of commercial furs and skins, the latter combining a comparison 



