REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 69 



Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture. The accessions 

 include some very valuable specimens. 



Owing to lack of space, it has been impossible to make much prog- 

 ress in the work of administering upon the collections, although new 

 hibels are being installed throughout. An effort is now being made to 

 collect types and cotypes from Europe and America. 



The work of the custodian. Dr. 0. W. Stiles, has included a revision 

 of the adult tapeworms of hares and rabbits. 



Pending the entry and cataloguing of the specimens received from 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry, no estimate can be given of the num- 

 ber of specimens in the collection. More than 1,400 entries have been 

 made in the catalogue since the last report, making a total of 1,550 

 entries to June 30, 189G. 



Several papers have been published by Dr. Stiles during the year, 

 the titles of which will be found in the Bibliography (Appendix iv). 



DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 



The accessions have been fewer than during the preceding year, 

 although the material received is reported by the curator, Mr. F. A. 

 Lucas, to possess considerable scientific value. A skeleton of Ponto- 

 2)oria blainvillei, for a long time a special desideratum, was received 

 from the La Plata Museum in exchange. 



Toward the close of the fiscal year it became necessary to remove 

 all the cases from the exhibition hall, in order to lay a new fioor. This 

 effectually prevented, for the time being, any additions to or improve- 

 ments in the exhibition series. 



Eegarding the actual work ujion the collections, Mr. Lucas says: 



Aside from the moving- of specimeus, necessitated by changes in the workroom, 

 exhibition hall, and basement of stable where alcoholics are stored, little has been 

 done, the greater part of the time of the preparator having been devoted to the 

 preparation of specimens for the department of maunnals and the Department of 

 Agricnlture, and work connected with the Atlanta Exposition. Copy has been 

 prepared for many labels, and some additions have been made to the synoptic series 

 of invertebrates. A nnmber of additions have also been made to the exhibition 

 series in the way of skeletons and models acqnired for the Atlanta Exposition. 



The study series is in good condition, except that the specimens 

 are crowded. This is due in part to the fact that it has been necessary 

 to assign considerable space to the Department of Agriculture deposit, 

 necessitating the storage of some of the Museum material, and the 

 transfer of nearly all of the cetaceans to the rooms occupied by the 

 department of mammals. 



Mr. Lucas has commenced a study of the changes in the skull of 

 the cormorants, and has continued his studies of the tongues of birds 

 and their modification and adaptation to various kinds of food and 

 the manner of obtaining it. A study of the skull of the extinct Pallas 

 Cormorant has been completed. Other investigations, which are being 

 conducted by Mr. Lucas in connection with his work in vertebrate 



