LEE BARKER WALTON 55 



thus be employed as a unit and the special machinery used 

 is particularly adapted for the three sizes. The 3x5 

 inch cards are too small, and for general purposes the 

 5x8 inch cards are too large and unwieldy. The 4x6 

 inch card, however, is of sufficient size to contain all 

 necessary data, without being cumbersome in manipula- 

 tion. 



Card cabinets to contain the catalogues may be obtained 

 in various sizes, but by the adoption of the 'unit' card 

 index section containing six drawers adopted for the 4x6 

 in. card, future units may be added as occasion demands, 

 and the cabinet is thus always complete. 



Following a chronological order, the data which should 

 be rendered accessible in an adequately catalogued collec- 

 tion, can be separated into three divisions. These are: 

 (A) The Accession Catalogue, containing a general rec- 

 ord of all material received by the museum. (B) The 

 Department Catalogue, giving a complete history of each 

 specimen or group of specimens, (a single species, ac- 

 quired by each department) . (C) The Reference Cata- 

 logue, having the names of all specimens belonging to each 

 department, arranged alphabetically so that the final 

 disposition of any desired specimen can at once be ascer- 

 tained. 



Of these, the Accession and Department catalogues are 

 essential from a business as well as a scientific standpoint, 

 while the Reference catalogue, although not a necessary 

 requisite, will be found advantageous as a reference index 

 to the specimens, particularly in the larger museums. 

 With the exception of the one pertaining to accessions, 

 which should be in charge of the director of the museum, 

 each catalogue should be controlled by the head of the 

 particular department with which it deals. 



While the records considered necessary vary more or 

 less in connection with the needs of the institution and 

 department concerned, they can in general be reduced to 

 the following tabular form, covering the data which may 

 be required in Museums of Natural History. 



