REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY 

 FOR THE YEAR 1897-98. 



By FiiEDKRicK W. True, 

 Head Curator. 



The Department of Biology was established at the opening of the 

 fiscal year, July 1, 1897, by bringing together under a separate admin- 

 istrative head the several zoological divisions already existing in the 

 Museum, and the Division of Plants. The collections represented by 

 these various divisions together constitute the larger part of the 

 Museum, and have been accumulating for nearly half a century. The 

 majority of the divisions themselves have been in existence since the 

 reorganization of the Museum, in 1881, and several of them for a much 

 longer period. 



On account of the great length of time that the collections have 

 been in existence, and the well defined and long-established methods of 

 systematic zoology and botany, no radical changes in the mode of con- 

 ducting the administrative or scientific business of the divisions has 

 been necessary or in contemplation. The efforts of the head curator 

 in the past year have been, as they probably will be in the future, 

 largely in the direction of developing those features which in the past, 

 for various causes, have not had due prominence. 



The conditions prevailing as regards space and amount of assistance 

 are far from ideal, and until much increased facilities in these direc- 

 tions have been provided it seems improbable that any great general 

 advance can be made. 



On the side of the exhibition of collections (the matter which appeals 

 most directly to the public) the deficiency is in the nature of insuffi- 

 cient and unsuitable space. Without a rearrangement which would 

 involve both of the other departments of the Museum and an amount 

 of work incommensurate with the result obtained, the proper sequence 

 of exhibition collections can not be had in the present (quarters. 



At the close of the last year the birds, reptiles, fishes, and mollusks 

 and other invertebrates, except insects, were displayed in the Smithso- 

 nian building, while the mammals, insects, and collections representing 

 comj)arative anatomy were displayed in the Museum building. As any 

 general transfer of the birds is impracticable at the present time, 

 endeavor was made to at least somewhat improve the sequence by 

 removing the insects to the Smithsonian building and transferring the 

 exhibits of batrachians, reptiles, and fishes to the Museum building. 

 This was accomplished without a great amount of labor or expense, 



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