REPORT OF ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 5") 



screens liave been constructed and placed in position on several of the 

 galleries. 



In order to accommodate additional tioor cases, the steam radiators 

 in some of the exhibition halls have been raised to a convenient height 

 and attached to the piers. Improvements in the water-supply system 

 have also been made. 



The walls in many of the halls and ranges and in two of the courts 

 were painted during- the year. 



ACCESSIONS AND REGISTRATION. 



The amount of material received during the year was unusually large, 

 aggregating 457,090 specimens. These were embraced in 1,441 sei)- 

 arate accession lots. In the division of insects alone 22(),0()0 specimens 

 were received, due to the acquisition of the Hubbard and Schwarz 

 collection, which is specially referred to elsewhere. Large quantities of 

 material were received by the Division of Molluslis and the Division 

 of Paleontology, and there have been notable increases in the collec- 

 tions of the divisions of prehistoric arclncology, mammals, birds, and 

 plants. The following tables show the number of specimens added to 

 the various collections during the year and the total number of speci- 

 mens in each collection on June 30, 1898: 



Number of specimens received in 1897-9S. 



Anthropology : 



Ethnology ' 4, 528 



Historic archaeology 1 



Prehistoric archeology 27, 335 



Technology 304 



Graphic arts 328 



Medicine 74(5 



Religious 81 



History and biography 1, 366 



Biology : 



Mammals 5, 762 



Birds 8, 211 



Birds' eggs 1, 545 



Reptiles and batrachians 1, 345 



Fishes 600 



Mollusks 91, 657 



Insects 226, 236 



^Marine invertebrates 2, 612 



Helminthological collection - 247 



Comparative anatomy 96 



Plants 49, 508 



Geology : 



Physical and cliemical geology 1, 105 



Mineralogy 410 



Stratigraphic paleontology 33, 073 



Total 457,096 



' Including 2,206 specimens relating to physical anthropology. 

 ^Number of cataloijue entries. 



