KEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914, 79 



constructed under contract, the remainder being built in the Museum 

 shops, which were also called upon for much miscellaneous and repair 

 work. A number of old cases and other articles which had outlined 

 their usefulness were condemned and disposed of. An inventory of 

 the furniture on hand at the close of the year records 3,561 exhibition 

 cases, 6,848 storage cases and pieces of laboratory furniture, 3,361 

 pieces of office and miscellaneous furniture, -10,056 unit specimen 

 drawers of wood, 4,712 imit specimen drawers of steel, 8,439 insect 

 drawers, and 19,751 miscellaneous specimen drawers and boxes of 

 various kinds. 



A decision having been reached as to a form of curtain suitable 

 for the large windows in the exhibition halls in the new building, 

 such as were most urgently required were installed during the year. 

 The necessity for the use of curtains arises from the failure of the 

 ground glass to sufficiently protect the colors of specimens, more espe- 

 cially in the zoological and ethnological exhibits. Difficulty was 

 encountered because of the exceptionalh^ large size of the windows 

 and of the fact that each contains two large movable panes near the 

 bottom which require to be kept open in warm weather. In accord- 

 ance with the system adopted, the main curtains on the first floor, of 

 unbleached muslin, reach from the window top to the upper level of 

 the ventilating openings, and are followed by shorter curtains cover- 

 ing the lower part of the windows. In the second floor, however, the 

 curtains, also of the same material, extend continuously the entire 

 length of the window. All are hung on nickel-plated brass rods and 

 are in pairs, with a simple device for pulling them to the sides. 

 Curtains of this character were installed on the south and west sides 

 of both floors west of the south pavilion and in the court windows 

 adjoining the collections of zoology and ethnology. In addition, and 

 as a very necessary protection for the mammal and bird exhibits, thin 

 black curtains were introduced between the muslin curtains and the 

 glass surface of the windows on the first floor of the west wing and 

 on both sides of the adjoining range. These black curtains, which 

 practically cut out all of the light, are not intended to be used until 

 after the time for closing, or from 4.30 o'clock in the afternoon until 

 9 O'clock in the morning, during which period for a considerable part 

 of the year the sun's rays continue effective during several hours. 

 It was also found necessary to provide cambric shades for the win- 

 dows in the north west range of the older Museum building, contain- 

 ing the period costume collection, in order to prevent the fading of 

 the delicate tints in many of the fabrics there displayed. 



COLLECTIONS. 



The number of accessions received during the year was 1,493, 

 comprising, besides certain loans, approximately 337,705 specimens, 



