144 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



leading to the west basement, the laboratory in the western end of the 

 cloister north of the west range, and the west range of the Smithsonian 

 building. The west hall has been assigned to this department for its 

 exhibition purposes, but is still to some extent filled with other material 

 eventually to be moved to the new museum. Very little, therefore, 

 has been done in the development of the exhibition series, and the chief 

 activity has been in the store-rooms, but the results are not so apparent 

 now as they will be when room can be found for the proper installation 

 of the collections. The coral collection, as well as part of the echino- 

 derms and sponges, have been mounted on ebonized tablets, and the 

 exijerimeuts which have been made in arranging these in cases with 

 maroon backgrounds indicate that the west hall when arranged will be 

 one of the most beautiful and attractive in the Museum. 



Mr. Eathbun has been assisted during the year by Messrs. J. B. Blish 

 and W. E. Safford, midshipmen, U. S. IST., and by Messrs. E. S. Tarr and 

 Oeorge F. Weld ; the latter a volunteer. 



The number of entries in the catalogue during the year have been 

 2,630. The card-catalogue begun last year is now nearly complete, con- 

 taining between 8,000 and 9,000 cards. This card-catalogue indicates 

 which of the specimens are in the reserve and which in tbe duplicate 

 series. 



During the summer the curator was attached to the party of the 

 United States Fish Commissioner at Wood's HoU, and under Professor 

 Verrill had charge of the dredging operations on the steamer Fish 

 Haicli. Mr. Eathbun paid special attention to the use of the tow-nets 

 at different depths in collecting fi'ee-swimming copepods, on which he 

 is preparing a special report; and he has also been engaged in preparing 

 for the Fishery Eeport, now in progress of publication under the joint 

 direction of the Commissioner of Fisheries and the Superintendent of 

 the Census, a chapter descriptive of the natural history, of all known 

 species of economic American marine invertebrates, and of the methods 

 and results of this particular fishery. These reports, which are now in 

 the hands of the printer, set forth the practical features of this depart- 

 ment of the Museum, which are of no small consequence, as they embrace 

 the lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and sponges, the annual fisheries for which 

 amount to over $1,200,000. This is the first attempt made to report 

 upon this class of fisheries in this country from accurate data. Fourteen 

 papers relating to this department have been published during the year, 

 five by the curator, six by Prof A. E. Verrill, one by Mr. Sidney I. 

 Smith, one by Dr. T. Hale Streets, and one by Mr. John A. Eyder. 

 The collection of fresh-water crayfish has been lent to Mr. Walter An- 

 derson, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, for study and publica- 

 tion. 



Mr. Eathbun has submitted the following special statement upon the 

 distribution of duplicate specimens : 



