182 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



sists of the original paintings made by Catlin in the field, is quite dis- 

 tinct from the one exhibited in the Smithsonian building many years 

 ago, and is in excellent condition, notwithstanding the fact that it has 

 been stored in a warehouse in Philadelphia for fifteen or twenty years. 



The collection of musical instruments is deserving of mention, since 

 it is, up to the present time, the only one, excepting the fisheries collec- 

 tion, which has been thoroughly arranged and labeled in accordance 

 with the accepted plan of installation. This material has been con- 

 siderably extended during the year by gift of modern European instru- 

 ments from Mr. J. Howard Foote, of New York City ; an exchange col- 

 lection of Caucasian instruments from Dr. George J. Engelmann, of Saint 

 Louis; the gift from the Eajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore, of Madras, of 

 a series of 80 instruments from Hindoostan, exhibited at the Foreign 

 Exhibition in Boston. The thanks of the Museum are due Col. C. B. 

 Norton for his friendly offices in securing for the Museum this valuable 

 donation. 



Another important accession to this department has been the contri- 

 bution by Mr. L. Prang, of Boston, of a series of specimens illustrating 

 the history and methods of lithography in all its branches. These were 

 selected, arranged, and labeled by Mr. S. R. Koehler, of Roxbury, Mass., 

 who has in preparation a hand-book, to be printed by the Museum, and 

 to accompany the collection. Rev. C. H. A. Dall, of Calcutta, has con- 

 tributed a considerable collection of foods, textiles, and other substances 

 from India. 



A most interesting and rare accession to the Museum during the year 

 is that of a piece of antique Roman mosaic, which formed a part of the 

 floor of the temple of Astarte, and which was secured by Sir Richard 

 Wood, British consul-general at Tunis, exhibited at the Centennial Ex- 

 hibition, Philadelphia, 1876, in the collection of his Highness the Bey of 

 Tunis, and presented to the Museum by Sir Richard Wood, at the in- 

 stance of GL H. Heap, esq., United States consul to Tunis. This speci- 

 men has been placed on exhibition, after having been carefully repaired 

 and mounted under glass by Mr. E. H. Hawley. 



Section of Foods and Textiles.— The Museum is very rich in the textile 

 products and food substances of tbe North American aborigines and of 

 a number of foreign countries, acquired at the close of the Philadelphia 

 Exhibition. Prof. W. O. Atwater, of the Wesleyan University, Mid- 

 dletown, Conn., has been acting as honorary curator of the section of 

 foods, and has carried on extensive operations in the analysis of food 

 products for the benefit of this collection and of the Fish Commission. 

 Mr. Romyn Hitchcock, of New York, an experienced microscopist and 

 chemist, has recently been designated acting curator of the department 

 of textiles and acting assistant curator of the department of foods. 

 The work of preliminary arrangement has been rapidly pushed forward. 



