282 FlKLl) Coi.UMUlAX MuSliUM — RkI'OKIS, \'l)L. I 



groups of Katcina dancers have been completed. Halls Nos. lo and 

 II art' being dismantled and the old ill-assortment of cases will be 

 replaced with new standard cases. Plans have already been made 

 for a complete reinstallation of these rooms, and casts have been 

 made for nine figures, which will be arranged in four groups. For 

 the first time in the history of this department, the work of the pres- 

 ervation of specimens from the ravages of insects is in a condition 

 that seems to guarantee the protection of the material, which has 

 already noticeably suffered from inattention. In the Department of 

 Geology some slight changes have been made to provide for the erec- 

 tion of the model of the moon in Alcove 103 of the west court. The posi- 

 tion of the glacial slabs has been somewhat changed, and the smaller 

 specimens formerly contained in the alcove have been removed to Halls 

 Nos. 36 and 59. The cases in Hall No. 35, containing the collection 

 of vertebrate fossils have been replaced by upright cases brought 

 from Hall No. 7. This was deemed desirable because the old cases 

 were too small and so loosely built as to give little protection from 

 dust. With the new installation a much better light is secured, and 

 specimens will no longer suffer injury from dust. In the same hall 

 a collection of about 500 specimens, illustrating the Niagara fauna 

 of Chicago and vicinity, has been installed in two floor cases brought 

 from the east court. The collection has hitherto been in storage for 

 lack of case room. It is accompanied by a collection illustrating 

 methods of petrifaction, prepared specially for instruction of the 

 pupils of the public schools. The cases used were remodeled from 

 their former shape, and, besides other changes, were fitted with 

 brackets made after a design prepared in the Museum, which permits 

 adjustment of the shelf to any slope. In Hall No. 62, devoted to the 

 meteorite collection, the old wall cases have been replaced by some 

 of a more desirable pattern brought from Hall No. 7. The mt-teorite 

 accessions, including the Long Island meteorite, have been installed 

 in these, and the change, together with some other rearrangements, 

 has resulted in a marked improvement in the appearance of the hall. 

 At the same time a better protection from dust has been secured for 

 the specimens. Hall No. 77, devoted to the display of fictile materials, 

 has been entirely rearranged. The })yramids of brick, sewer pipe, 

 etc., which formerly occupied much of the space, have been replaced 

 by more valuable material. A series of 1,200 briquettes, made from 

 clays of as many different localities of the United States and Canada, 

 illustrates the adaptation of different kinds of clay to brick making. 

 A second collection shows the composition of clays and the effect 

 of impurities upon their value. Another illustrates fine clays and 



