REPORT OF ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 59 



were iu good coiKlition when sliipped often deteriorate before reaching 

 their destination, and this again furnishes ground for dissatisfaction. 



It is not likely, however, that transactions with establishments and 

 individuals wlio have been exchanging material with this Museum, to 

 the satisfaction of both, will be discontinued, altliough it is doubtful 

 whether special pains will be taken to extend negotiations of this 

 character into untried fields. 



A number of exchanges which have been pending for special reasons 

 were completed during the year just closed. Among the most important 

 transactions the following may be mentioned : 



From the Imperial Royal Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria, 

 6G specimens of Tertiary corals were received in exchange for Lower 

 Cretaceous fossils. The Paleontological Museum of the Royal Acad- 

 emy, Munich, Bavaria, received from the TT. S. National Museum 16 

 specimens of Cambrian fossils, in exchange for material sent some time 

 ago. Thirty-three specimens of fossil plants, representing 20 species, 

 were received from the Natural History Society of New Brunswick, 

 St. John, and ItO specimens of fossil plants have been sent in return. 

 The Branicki Museum, Warsaw, Russia, has received 170 bird skins 

 from the National Museum, in continuation of exchanges. Land shells 

 from Transcaspia and the Caucasus and marine shells from the coast of 

 Russia have been received from the Zoological Museum of the Imperial 

 Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, in exchange for about 2,000 

 specimens of shells from the National Museum. Mons. M. Cossmann, 

 Paris, France, sent a collection of shells in exchange for publications. 

 Sixty-two specimens of Actinians have been transmitted to the Royal 

 Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden, in exchange for 

 material yet to be forwarded. Crustaceans have been sent to the 

 Museum of Natural History, Geneva, Switzerland, in return for speci- 

 mens already received and in continuation of exchanges. 



Mr. T. AVayland Vaughan, of the U. S. Geological Survey, was author- 

 ized to arrange exchanges with several foreign museums during his 

 visit to Eurolje in the summer of 1897. He made an especial effort to 

 obtain corals from the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations of Europe. 

 Series of specimens have already been received from the Geological- 

 Paleontological Institute, Munich, Bavaria, and the Geological Society 

 of London; also from the Imperial Royal Natural History Museum, 

 Vienna, as stated above. 



LABELS. 



Ninety-eight requisitions were received from the various divisions of 

 the Museum during the year. Twelve of these were sent to the Gov- 

 ernment Printing Office to be filled, namely, requisitions for binding 

 482 books; for printing 3,958 labels, representing 197 forms, for print- 

 ing 700 specifications for supplies; for binding 13 volumes of vouchers; 

 for 500 manila pads, and 9 record books. There were printed at the 

 Museum 209,205 labels (representing 6,640 forms), of which 48,998 (rep- 

 resenting 3,902 forms) were for use in connection with the Trans- 



