REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1921. Ill 



RESEARCH AND STUDIES CARRIED ON AT THE MDSEDM. 



For the benefit of the Museum. — As much time as could be spared 

 from routine work has been given by the curator and one assistant 

 to the preparation of comprehensive technical definitions of textile 

 fabrics based upon authentic specimens in the Museum's collections. 

 This has meant the careful examination of all available current tex- 

 tile literature, as the technical mill and trade terms used in older 

 works of reference are often not in accord with those in current use 

 in the United States. Considerable progress has been made toward 

 the completion of a fabrics glossary based on actual specimens. 



The use of the, MusemrCs coJlectioiis and fcwilities hy visitors and 

 correspondents. — Dr. Arno Viehoever and Mr. J. F. Clevenger, of 

 the pharmacognosy laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry, De- 

 partment of Agriculture, made frequent use of the study collections 

 in the division of medicine for identifying and comparing commer- 

 cial drugs submitted to that laboratory under the food and drugs act. 



Dr. H. E. Kalusowski, dean of the college of pharmacy, George 

 Washington University, made use of the collections in the study of 

 gums and resins. 



Mr. Samuel D. Stevens, North Andover, Mass., made use of the 

 collections in a study of the development of hand spinning and 

 weaving in colonial times. 



One of the professors of the school of medicine, George Washing- 

 ton University, frequently brought his class to the Museum to study 

 the exhibits in the section of foods. 



The research director of the trade paper Women's Wear and his 

 assistant spent some time studying and sketching the models of 

 spinning and knitting machinery in the division of textiles for use in 

 the investigation of the history of the knitting industry. 



Numerous visitors made inquiry at the curator's office in search of 

 special information suggested by the exhibits, and made particular 

 use of the technical books' in the sectional library. The curator 

 furnished special information on industrial raw materials and the 

 identification of specimens, from time to time during the year to the 

 Bureaus of Chemistry and Plant Industry, United States Department 

 of Agriculture, and to the New York appraiser's office, Treasury 

 Department. The identification of specimens of fibers and fabrics, 

 gums, resins, seeds, and woods, and bibliographical compilations on 

 various subjects for numerous individuals, both in and out of the 

 Government service, has been a regidar part of the work of this 

 division. He furnished the identification of the cottons and cotton 

 seeds introduced by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduc- 

 tion and Distribution. Department of Agriculture. 

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