REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1919. 98 



consuming work. He made molds and casts of turtles and fishes, also 

 a group of green frogs for the District exhibit. For the general fish 

 collection he made a gi^oup of a mother and four young of the cow- 

 nosed ray {RMnohatm) . During the period following the moving 

 of the exhibition cases he assisted in their reinstallation and rehabili- 

 tation. 



Exhibition collections. — When last year's report closed, 41,600 

 square feet of floor space had already been vacated to furnish office 

 room for the Bureau of War Risk Insurance of the United States 

 Treasury. At that time part of the exhibits on both floors, notably 

 the big groups of African mammals collected by the Smithsonian 

 African expedition under direction of Col. Theodore Roosevelt, was 

 still accessible to the public. During the first week of the year the 

 Biological Department received orders to evacuate the rest of the 

 exhibition space allotted to it, in order to furnish additional room 

 for the War Risk Insurance Bureau. As a result, the big ranges on 

 both floors were cleared of their cases by moving them into the 

 skylight hall and the range in which are located the African groups, 

 as it was found practically impossible to move the big habitat groups. 

 The bird collection was moved into the adjacent alcoves and stored 

 there. On the second floor the skeleton hall and the fish and reptile 

 halls were cleared by moving the cases into the whale hall. The 

 cases had to be so closely crowded that in most instances it was im- 

 possible for a man to squeeze in between them. Enough space was 

 left, however, for an efficient inspection which was undertaken regu- 

 larly every week by Dr. J. E. Benedict and two preparators, with a 

 view to detecting possible damage by insects or any other causes. In 

 order to save the exhibits from unnecessary exposure to the light, 

 the curtains were kept down wherever furnished, and in special in- 

 stances the cases were darkened by covering them with thick black 

 paper. Before storing away the exhibition collection specimens 

 which, if damaged, could not be replaced, such as the great auk, 

 the Labrador duck, etc., were removed from the cases and placed 

 safely in insect-proof, dust and light tight unit storage cases. As a 

 result of these precautions and the great care in handling the cases 

 when moving them, the collection, as a whole, suffered surprisingly 

 little damage. 



The War Risk Bureau having moved out of the building at the 

 end of Marcli, 1919, the task of moving the stored exhibits back into 

 their former places was begun at once. Within a short time the first 

 floor exhibits were placed in position. On the second floor the ver- 

 tebrate skeleton hall, and the fish and reptile halls were also re- 

 stored to their former state. The exhibition rooms thus cleared and 

 reinstalled were thrown open to the public on April 11. Unfortu- 

 nately it was found impracticable to move the reserve series of the 



