tlEPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 131 



DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALS. 



Mr. Frederick W. True, assistant curator, has been acting as curator 

 of this department since January 20, 1882, at the same time perform- 

 ing the duties of librarian. 



The south main hall of the new Museum has been fitted with exhi- 

 bition cases for the reception of the mounted mammals, and also with 

 a considerable number of storage cases of the unit-table pattern for tli© 

 reserve series of skins. The room at the west end of the south balcony- 

 is used as a laboratory for this department, and the room on the third 

 floor above it has been assigned for the storage of the alcoholic series. 

 These rooms are very small, and it has been found necessary to make 

 use of a part of the south balcony in addition. 



Since the mammal hall has been ready for occupation, the entire 

 time of the curator and one or two assistants has been devoted to trans- 

 ferring the collections from the old Museum and to their rearrange- 

 ment. Little attention having been paid to the mammal collections 

 since 1876, it has been found necessary to devote much time to bring- 

 ing up, arrearages of work, and to inspecting and relabeling almost 

 every specimen. This work has been very efficiently inaugurated by 

 Mr. True, who has also nearly completed a preliminary card-cataloguo 

 of the collection arranged alphabetically under genera. 



A very effective lireliminary display of the mounted mammals has 

 been made, and studies have been prosecuted and experiments made iu 

 preparation for a system of full descriptive labels. 



The osteological section of the mammal collection still remains in the 

 east gallery of the lower hall of the old Museum. 



The cast of a humpback whale, elsewhere referred to, has within the 

 past month been finally placed at the south end of the mammal hall. 



The number of specimens is estimated by the curator to be 8,265, 4,660 

 being skins, of which 689 are mounted and on exhibition, 3,535 in the 

 osteological series, and 70 in the anatomical series. 



On page 130 of last year's report may be found the census of the col- 

 lection of mounted mammals. The number of entries for the past year 

 in the mammal catalogue has been 293; iu the osteological catalogue, 

 139. 



One paper based upon the material of this department has been pub- 

 lished by its curator, who has, however, also printed several contribu- 

 tions to other departments of science. 



DEPARTMENT OF BIRDS. 



There has been great activity in the department of birds, notwith- 

 standing the fact that it has been impossible for the curator, Mr. Eidg- 

 way, to make any changes iu the appearance of the exhibition series. 

 The mounted birds are now displayed on the main floor of the lower 

 hall of the old Museum and in a part of its western gallery, but the 



