REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 71 



the exhibitions, when the exhibits were shipped and officers of the 

 Museum proceeded to the respective cities to see to the proper installa- 

 tion of the collections. 



THE EXHIBIT AT LOUISVILLE. 



In 1883 the people of Louisville obtained control of a large plat of 

 ground within easy access of the city and erected a building 920 feet by 

 630 feet, with extensive galleries, where they held a large and success- 

 ful exposition, continuing for three months. The exposition of 1884 was 

 held under the same auspices and in the same building, opening August 

 16 and closing October 25. 



Immediately upon the passage of the bill by Congress, correspond- 

 ence was opened with the management of the exposition, and space 

 obtained in different portions of the building for the several Executive 

 Departments, 4,500 feet being assigned to the Smithsonian Institution, 

 in one of the most prominent locations. The time being short, the work 

 of preparing the exhibit was vigorously prosecuted, and on August 12 

 three cars, containing ninety-five cases, with a weight of 23,553 pounds, 

 were shipped. These arrived at Louisville on the morning of the 16th, 

 and by the evening of the 19th were fully installed. 



The industrial interests of Kentucky were taken into consideration 

 in deciding upon the character of the exhibit, which it was thought 

 desirable to make as instructive as possible. It was largely an educa- 

 tional exhibit, showing the processes of manufacture of raw materials 

 which are abundant in the State, to which were added specimens illus- 

 trating certain subjects which it was thought would prove both novel 

 and interesting to the people of Kentucky. One of the prominent feat- 

 ures of the exhibit was a large collection showing the process of manu- 

 facturing textiles from raw materials, including flax, hemp, jute, grasses, 

 and silk. A collection illustrative of articles derived from the animal 

 kingdom was also shown. This included a series of furs, another of 

 crude and manufactured leathers, a third of natural and ornamental 

 shells and shell-work, a fourtli illustrating the uses of feathers in the 

 arts, and a fifth showing the manufacture and uses of glues derived 

 from the sounds, bones, and skins of various species of fish. An ex. 

 tensive collection of photographs and drawings, illustrative of the 

 great ocean fisheries of the New England coast, was also shown. The 

 whale fishery was illustrated by means of a full-sized whale-boat, fully 

 equipped with sails, oars, harpoons, lines, and guns; also by a model of 

 a whale-shix) with a whale alongside, showing the method of stripping 

 the blubber and trying it out on the vessel's deck; and by paintings 

 of whaling scenes. The other fisheries, including those for cod, mack- 

 erel, menhaden, and herring, and the apparatus and methods of fish- 

 culture, were fully shown by models of the most important vessels and 

 boats, and by a series of photographs, 30 by 40 inches, neatly framed, 

 and mounted on screens. The natural history collections included 



