12 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, L892. 



The curator of the department of ethnology has continued to mount 

 and label new specimens, which will be held in readiness for exhibition 

 when practicable. A large number of specimens of aboriginal pottery, 

 consisting mainly of fragments collected by the officers of the Bureau 

 of Ethnology in the tide water districts of Maryland and Virginia, have 

 been installed. In the section of graphic arts several important gaps 

 have been filled. Table-cases have been placed in the alcoves to accom- 

 modate new specimens, and considerable progress has been made in tin' 

 substitution of printed for written labels. Several exhibits relating to 

 the development of the railroad and telegraph have been added to the 

 collections in the section of transportation and engineering. The col- 

 lection of birds' eggs has been carefully rearranged and relabeled, 

 and new insect-proof cases have been provided. Numerous illustra- 

 tions have been added to the systematic series of insects, making it 

 nearly complete. A large collection of vertebrate fossils, from regions 

 in the west, secured by Prof. O. C. Marsh, in connection with his official 

 work for the U, S. Geological Survey, has been placed upon exhibition. 

 This collection is arranged in a wall-case especially constructed for it, 

 extending the entire length of the east side of the exhibition hall. The 

 collection of Cambrian and Ordovician fossils has been completed, 

 labeled, and placed upon exhibition. A large collection of Mesozoic 

 fossils has been received from the Geological Survey, and a part of it 

 has been placed upon exhibition. The herbarium has been practically 

 rearranged. New genus covers and genus labels have been substituted 

 for the old ones. An entirely new arrangement of the exhibition series 

 of fossil plants was begun during the year. Heretofore, the plants 

 have been arranged with a view to illustrating the origin and develop 

 ment of plant life, but it has been found desirable to substitute for this 

 a geological arrangement. A large and exceedingly valuable collection 

 of fossil plants has been presented by Mr. II. D. Lacoe, of Pittston, 

 Pa., and portions of it will be placed upon exhibition as oppor- 

 tunity offers. A considerable portion of the exhibition series in the 

 department of minerals has been remounted on ebonized blocks, and 

 the entire collection will soon be similarly provided for. Two large 

 mahogany cases have been provided for the exhibition of the gems and 

 semi precious stones. This collection embraces 2,215 specimens. There 

 have been transferred to the exhibition hall about 1,800 specimens be- 

 longing to the exhibition and study series, which had accumulated in 

 the mineral laboratory. In the department of geology considerable 

 time has been devoted to the installation, in the south-west court, of the 

 economic series, which may now be said to be in an approximately sat 

 isfactory condition. The collection of ores, tin, nickel, manganese and 

 antimony are systematized, and temporary labels have, in most cases, 

 been prepared. The laying of new pavements in the south-west court 

 and west-south range necessitated the moving of all the floor-eases, 

 and, incidentally, the rearrangement of the specimens. 



