46 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



latter as a monographic collection illustrating this art, which alone 

 places the Haidahs at the head of the Indians of the northwest 

 coast. 



A comparison and study of all the carvings from the Haidahs is 

 to be made, as it is difficult for the uninitiated to make out or dis- 

 tinguish between the conventional representation of animals. The 

 Haidah totemism and mythology offer a most promising field to 

 investigators. 



Mr. Swan is anxious to make another trip, during the coming 

 season, a attend to great celebration to be held in the fall. The 

 Director has the matter now under consideration. 



The Fisheries Exhibit, having returned from London, is now 

 turned over to the Museum, and will form a monographic collection. 

 The Makah Exhibit, collected by Swan, and the Eskimo, whale, 

 seal, and walrus hunting outfits are peculiarly interesting to anthro- 

 pologists. 



In the matter of exchange, the Museum has recently sent to the 

 Trocadero, at Paris, a small collection of models of ruins and cliff- 

 dwellings, ethnological material from ZiiTu, Moqui, and our Western 

 Indians. The Museum has available for exchange a great deal of 

 material from the collections of the Bureau of Ethnology and the 

 northwest coast and Alaska collections. 



In the matter of collecting every year increases the value of ethno- 

 logical material. When Congress shall wake up to the necessities 

 of making more liberal appropriations it will be found that it has 

 been false economy to delay in the matter. A few thousand dollars 

 now will represent a much greater outlay in future years. 



The outlook for anthropological collections for 1884 is not so 

 encouraging. Fisher, McLean, and Swan will be the main sources. 

 No one has yet taken McKay's place, and Nelson has permanently 

 withdrawn. Greely's party must have abandoned their collections 

 North, and the present relief expedition can hardly accomplish 

 much. Foulk and Bernadon may be heard from in Corea. 



As stated originally the year 1883 has been a prosperous one for 

 the Smithsonian and National Museum. 



REMARKS ON THE CLASSIFICATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE 

 NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



As a rule the earlier collections have lost much of their value, 

 both from the want of care in preserving the accompanying data, 



