III.— REVIEW OF WORK IN THE SCIENTIFIC 

 DEPARTMENTS. 



During the early part of the fiscal year the curators of many of the 

 (lei)artinents were engaged in completing the preparation of their 

 exhibits for the Cotton States and International Exposition at Atlanta, 

 Ga. This Exposition opened on September 18 and continued until the 

 close of the year 1895. Another month or more was required for the 

 return of the exhibits and their installation in the Museum, so that for 

 at least one-half of the period covered by the present report the cura- 

 tors were occupied more or less with Exposition matters. This is usually 

 the case, however, during those years in which Expositions occur, and 

 as the resulting disadvantages have been dwelt upon in previous 

 reports, no extended reference to them need be made at this time. 

 Nevertheless, it is gratifying to state that satisfactory progress has 

 been made in all the departments, notwithstanding the dilhculties 

 encountered. The record of the present year compares favorably with 

 that of other years in which similar conditions existed. 



DEPARTMENT OP MAMMALS. 



As stated in the last Annual Eeport, the curator, Mr. F. W. True, was 

 detailed in May, 1895, to accompany an expedition to Alaska and the 

 adjacent islands for the purpose of studying the seal rookeries. While 

 thus engaged he was attached to the stafi* of the United States Fish 

 Commission. 



The most interesting accessions to tlie collections of this department 

 have been received from Dr. W. L. Abbott, who for several years has 

 forwarded very large and valuable collections of mammals, birds, etc., 

 from various parts of Africa and Asia. Mis contributions in the present 

 year consisted of valuable skins of lemurs and other small mammals 

 from Madagascar, and a collection from Kashmir, including a stag and 

 a musk. In all, ninety-two specimens were received from him. 



About forty skins of the very rare mole Neurotrichus gihbsii, from 

 r>ritish Columbia, were purchased by the Museum. Eighty-eight mam- 

 n)als from the Pribilof Islands, including fifteen fur-seals, were col- 

 lected by the curator (while iu the service of the Fish Commission) and 

 Mr. D. W. Prentiss, jr. A mounted skin of the Chile deer, (Jariaciis 

 chilcnsis, was presented by the La Plata Museum. Lieut. Wirt Robin- 

 son, U. S. A., collected fourteen small mammals in Margarita Island 

 and La Guayra, Venezuela. These he kindly presented to the National 

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