Oct. 1900. Annual Report of the Director. 451 



from the edge and parallel to it, and the end bent downward, thus 

 forming a flap dropping over the face edge of the pigeon-hole. These 

 ' slides ' are placed under the fascicles in each pigeon-hole, and when 

 pulled forward by the drop, bring the contents forward for inspection. 

 The drops of the slides may be left blank, or order, section, or genus 

 labels may be pasted upon them as desired. The facility with which 

 the contents of the pigeon-holes are consulted through the use of 

 these slides has been a daily source of comfort and a great saving of 

 time and wear. These cases have, however, the great fault of all 

 herbarium cases — the nuisance of swinging doors. To overcome 

 this the Curator devised the following form, arranged internally like 

 those described above, but with the door so constructed that it can 

 be pushed back between the case and its neighbor, thus leaving the 

 contents entirely free from obstruction. Twelve of such cases have 

 been built and installed in the new room and have proven perfectly 

 practical and satisfactory. They are nearly seven feet high, by three 

 feet four inches wide, and contain forty-five five-inch pigeon-holes and 

 three sliding shelves each. They are placed back to back in six 

 separable pairs (A. A. B. B.), thus affording ample accommodation 

 for the doors when pushed back out of the way. When set in place 

 the pairs are held rigidly together by the tracks (c. c. e. e.) in which 

 the doors slide; the cleats (i. i. i. i.) being fixed in place by strong 

 screws before the metal guide-strip (c. c. e. e.) is attached. The 

 door is hinged at g. g. to the wing piece (E. E.), which slides forth 

 • and back with it on the track, and is supported at all points in its 

 movement by the silent pivoted caster (h). This caster is mounted 

 in a hardwood block which serves the purpose of a check to the door 

 when pushed back, and a foot press when locking it after closing. 

 The operation of the door requires no more effort than that expended 

 with the ordinary kind ; it is simply opened until checked by meeting 

 the face of the wing, then thrust away with a push. In closing it is 

 pulled forward by the key of the lock until stopped by the rolling pins 

 (d. d.), then swung shut. Although the door is entirely separate 

 from the case itself, yet by the bead and groove construction men- 

 tioned above, these cases are perfectly tight when closed. When 

 arranged side by side in the herbarium, they occupy but two inches 

 more space than the ordinary case, while the door arrangement 

 allows the tiers to be much closer together." The acquisition of the 

 South Court by the Department of. Zoology gave room for an expan- 

 sion of exhibition material, the demands for which had existed for 

 some time, and two fine groups have made their appearance, the 

 Polar Bear and the Greater Koodoo. The taxidermist has in 



