22 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



• 



conditiou of fossil botany, published in the Fifth Annual Report of the 

 Director of the Geological Survey, gives an excellent idea of the char- 

 acter of the work which he has undertaken to accomplish in connection 

 with the National Museum collections. 



The work of classification and arrangement has progressed, and the 

 herbarium of recent i)lants is now estimated at not less than 30,000 

 specimens: while that of fossil plants includes 7,439 specimens. 



Dr. F. Y. Ilavard contributed large and valuable collections of plants 

 from Texas and the adjacent States and Territories, containing the 

 types of his report on the "Flora of Western and Southern Texas," pub- 

 lished in the Proceedings of the National Museum.* 



A card catalogue of the Joad collection of plants from the Old World, 

 recently acquired from the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, has been 

 completed. This collection contains over 10,000 species, 9,000 of which 

 were new to the Museum. 



DIVISION OF GEOLOGY. , 



DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS. 



Uuder the direction of Trof. F. W. Clarke, the department of minerals 

 is now making rapid progress. During the year exchanges have been 

 carried on with i)rivate collectors and with a number of public mu- 

 seums, among which may be mentioned the Ii)cole des Mines, at Paris; 

 the Mus^e d'Annecy, in Savoy ; the University of Sydney, Australia ; 

 and that of Amherst College. The total number of specimens received 

 during the year was 800. 



Nearly 4,500 of the 18,401 specimens constituting the collection of the 

 Museum, are now on exhibition. Esi)ecial attention has been devoted 

 to the development of the collection of gems and ornamental stones. 



In connection with his official duties as chemist of the Geological 

 Survey, the curator has been- enabled to accomplish nuicli scientific 

 work upon the Museum collections. He has made a study of the min- 

 erals received from Litchfield, Me., and the turquoise from New Mexico, 

 and is at present investigating the chemical structure of the silicates 

 and preparing a revision of the borates, and is also making a full series 

 of analyses of tourmaline. 



DEPARTMENT OF LITUOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOLOGY. 



Although the increase of material in this department has not been 

 very great, during the year the number of catalogue entries has been 

 1,021. 



The exhibition series has increased, and all the available cases are 

 now filled. IMuch attention has been devoted to the preparation of the 

 exhibition series and accompanying labels and to the completion of the 

 study series. 



*Proc. U. S. Nat. Mas., viii, IS-ir,, ])p. 449-533. 



