(45o) 



REPORT OF THE CURATOR OF THE ECO- 

 NOMIC COLLECTIONS. 



Dr. N. L. Britton, Director-in-Chief. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith my report upon 

 the Economic Museum for the year 1902. 



Our work during the past year has consisted chiefly in 

 studying the nomenclature of economic products, especially 

 drugs, and in carrying on the labeling and improving the 

 appearance of the collections already in the cases. Owing 

 to the congested condition of the latter, it has not been 

 deemed desirable to push the work of accumulating new 

 material for the present. Donors of collections do not enjoy 

 seeing them placed in storage for long periods, but are usu- 

 ally impatient to visit the museum and see their contributions 

 properly displayed. Considerable new material has, how- 

 ever, been acquired, and, when the conditions permitted, has 

 been placed in the cases ; otherwise it has been stored. 



Probably the most important of these acquisitions is a col- 

 lection made in Bolivia by Mr. R. S. Williams, representing 

 chiefly the staple and little known food products of that 

 country. Constituting, as these do, the main subsistence of 

 millions of people, it would appear as though, when properly 

 and generally made known, they must prove of importance 

 to people in other parts of the globe. Among other food 

 products worthy of note are a collection of Canadian and 

 Pacific grains, contributed by Mr. Otto Keusch, of New 

 York. Two important collections of coffeesjiave been pre- 

 sented, one by Mr. A. Wakeman, the other by Mr. C. Claas- 

 sen, both of New York. The important food products of 

 Porto Rico, mentioned in my last annual report as having 

 been obtained by Professor L. M. Underwood, have been 

 placed in the cases. Many of the specimens obtained by 

 Mr. Percy Wilson in the East Indies, have also been placed 

 in the cases. A number of interesting specimens' of Mexican 

 fibers have been obtained from Mr. J. N. Rose, of Washing- 



