66 EEPOET OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1&21. 



AAay. The limit of this sort of selection is quickly reached, however, 

 and it is important that additional case room be provided without 

 delay and that means be found of mounting promptly all material 

 needed for permanent preservation. About 26,000 specimens have 

 been mounted during the year. These have been recorded, chiefly 

 through temporary clerical help. The segregation of type and dupli- 

 cate type specimens from the main herbarium has been continued 

 as opportunity offered, mainly in connection with other w'ork, and 

 10, 136 specimens have now been distinctively labeled, catalogued, and 

 placed in individual covers in the so-called type herbarium. 



At the beginning of this part of my report the general tendency 

 of the work of the preparators has been mentioned. Apart from 

 the specimens w hich found their places in the exhibition series much 

 work was spent on study material for the various divisions. Skins 

 of mammals and birds were made up or repaired for the study 

 series, many dry preparations made for the division of reptiles; 

 skeletons and skulls cleaned whenever needed for study. jSIr. 

 W. L. Brown, whose remounting of the African leopard I have 

 already alluded to, also mounted a South American brocket deer 

 and a mule deer, wdiich were placed in the exhibition series. A 

 large number of mammal skins were worked up, birds dismounted 

 and made into studj^ skins, etc. Some time before his death Mr. 

 Wood had already begun to instruct Mr. Brown in his way of 

 preparing dry bird skins, as well as in his own particular methods 

 of mounting birds which had given him such a high rank among 

 bird taxidermists. It is therefore felt that Mr. Brow^n and Mr. 

 George Marshall in the future will be able to fully take care of 

 this branch of the exhibits, Mr. Marshall, in addition to a large 

 amount of repair work, skinning fresh material coming in from local 

 collectors and the zoological park, tanning, etc., has mounted a num- 

 ber of smaller mammals, including several monkeys. Mr. J. W. 

 ScoUick, the osteologist, in addition to cleaning a number of .turtle 

 skulls and bones, prepared 179 whole skeletons, some exceedingly 

 delicate. Among the lot were no less than 155 bird skeletons, and 

 10 skeletons of rats, which were mounted for the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry, Department of Agriculture. Twelve skins of the same 

 series of rats w^ere also mounted bj'^ Mr. Marshall for the same bureau 

 as an exhibit to illustrate the result of certain feeding experiments. 

 The bone-cleaning w^ork under Mr. Scollick's supervision resulted in 

 the cleaning of 57 mammal skeletons and 130 large mammal skulls. 

 Mr. C. E. Mirguet's time was to a great extent taken up w'ith two 

 tasks, the preparation and cleaning of the Florida whale skeleton, 

 donated by the Miami Aquarium Association and mentioned above, 

 and the buildin,g of a drum for the tanning of mammal skins. The 



