REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 33 



The principal work of the taxidermists during the year has been 

 the dismantling of one of the largest and oldest of the biological 

 groups in the North American mammal hall, namely, that of the 

 Rocky Mountain goats. The mounting of the animals for the new 

 group, which have been collected for a number of seasons by Doctor 

 and Mrs. Walcott during their explorations in the Canadian Rockies, 

 has been practically finished and a fair beginning made on the rock 

 work and other accessories. The arrangement, cataloguing, and in- 

 stallation of the large material received from collectors in the field 

 has cost much time and labor, but good progress has been made and 

 the condition of the study collections is considered very good. 



As usual the Museum is under great obligations to a great number 

 of scientific men connected with universities, museums, and other 

 institutions all over the country and abroad, for working up such 

 parts of the collections as are not represented by specialists on the 

 staff of the National Museum. The research work of the members 

 of the scientific staff has continued during such time as could be 

 spared from the routine work, and some important memoirs have 

 been concluded and published during the year, but the divisions are 

 greatly undermanned, and more scientific work of a high order 

 could be accomplished were more assistants available. With the in- 

 crease in the number of accessions, the opportunity for research 

 work becomes less. 



Naturalists visiting Washington for the purpose of examining the 

 collections have been given the widest and most liberal assistance in 

 pursuing their studies, and loans of specimens to scientific institu- 

 tions and individual investigators in this country and abroad have 

 been made freely as heretofore. Zoological and botanical duplicates 

 distributed to high schools, colleges, institutions, etc., aggregated 

 4,194 specimens, of which 2,086 consisted of mollusks in 14 prepared 

 sets, and 800 fishes in 9 sets. Exchanges to the number of 14,526 

 were sent out, of which 2,737 were zoological. 



The total number of specimens of animals and plants now in the 

 collections is estimated at 7,206,816, of which 1,183,700 are plants. 



Geology. — The year 1923-24 is notable chiefly on account of the 

 unusual amount and value for both exhibition and study of the 

 material received, a total of 227 geological accessions, aggregating 

 159,921 specimens, being recorded. The paleontological collections 

 were the chief beneficiaries, the most noteworthy of the accessions 

 being the large sauropodous dinosaur from the Dinosaur National 

 Monument, Utah, and the Edgar E. Teller and George M. Austin 

 collections of fossils, the last two named comprising at least 125,000 

 of the total number of specimens received. 



The economic collections have been increased by Canadian nickel 

 and silver ores acquired mainly through the interest of Honorary 



