48 EEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



overcrowding of the building, and while such action was unavoid- 

 able, it produced an unfortunate gap in the Museum scheme, which 

 every effort had been made to hold intact. Though constantly looked 

 forward to, the opportunity to revive any of these branches did not 

 occur until 1912, when the division of textiles was reestablished. 

 For the purpose primarily of placing again on display such parts of 

 the older collections of animal and vegetable products as were still 

 in appropriate condition, these subjects were associated with the 

 division of textiles, but with the means available it has been deemed 

 wisest to concentrate most attention for the present on the textiles 

 with which an exceptional amount of progress has been made. 



The collections of textiles are designed, aside from the primary 

 purpose of education, to serve as distinct aids to the several branches 

 of this great industry in demonstrating its importance in the life of 

 the people and in recording the economic changes taking place from 

 time to time. There is both a reserve and an exhibition series, the 

 former being exclusively technical, compactly arranged and so cata- 

 logued as to permit of read}?^ reference. The exhibition series, se- 

 lected, labeled, and arranged to furnish an impressive object lesson 

 for the public, includes raw material, classified along industrial lines 

 rather than biological ; the technology of spinning and weaving, with 

 specimens of the intermediate steps in the production of yarn and 

 fabric; the ornamentation and utilization of woven structures; and 

 an exposition of the history and development of the various technical 

 operations as well as of the machines used. The exhibition space 

 allotted to the division for all purposes comprises the south hall and 

 southeast court with their galleries, the floor area of the east south 

 range, and the gallery of the southwest court. 



Textiles. — The south hall is devoted to an exposition of the origin, 

 preparation, and utilization of the three principal fibers, namely, 

 cotton, wool and silk. Starting with the cotton plant, sheep and 

 silkworm, respectively, there are developed three parallel series of 

 specimens, supplemented by photographs and models, illustrating 

 the processes whereby these fibers are compounded into thread or 

 yarn, and strands of this mterw^oven into fabrics of various kinds. 

 Another series deals with the ornamentation of the woven fabric by 

 means of dyeing, printing, and brocading. 



The cotton exhibit, beginning with a plant bearing fully opened 

 bolls of cotton ready for picking, contains specimens of the bolls 

 and seeds of the most important species and cultivated varieties of 

 the world, a large series of commercially graded raw cotton taken 

 from the world's markets, and a set of the official United States 

 standard cotton grades. In illustration of the processes involved in 

 manufacture are represented the successive operations in making six- 

 cord sewing thread, and the production of a standard cotton gingham, 



