REPORT OF ACTING ASSIi^TANT SECRETARY. 53 



Mr. F. S. Morton, Portland, Maine, has mounted and named a number of specimens 

 of Foraminifera for the Museum. 



Miss Harriet Richardson lias been a volunteer assistant in the department since 

 September, 1896, and has aided in the identification of tlie Isopoda, especially the 

 SpIiMioniidii'. Descriptions and tij;ures of several species have already been pub- 

 lished 



Fifteen papers based upon ]\Iusenm material have been published 

 durini>- the year. ' The titles of these are given in the Bibliography 

 (Api^eudix l^'). 



It is proposed to rearrange the exhibits in the west hall of the Smith- 

 sonian Building. In carrying out this rearrangement more attention 

 will be given to systematic order and a better representation of the 

 genera. New cases will be provided. Forms which can not be repre- 

 sented properly by specimens will be shown by casts or diagrams. 



Nearly 2,400 specimens were received during the year, the total 

 number in the collection l)eing estimated at about 520,000. Eight 

 hundred and twenty-five entries were made in the catalogues, as fol- 

 lows: Crustaceans, 586 5 worms, 20; bryozoans and ascidians, 10; 

 echinoderms and coelenterates, 203; sponges and protozoans, 6. 



HELMINTIIOLOGICAL COLLECTION. 



Dr. C W. Stiles, custodian, reports that four collections have been 

 added to the Museum series during the year, namely, the collection of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, and the 

 private collections of Drs. Leidy, Stiles, and Ilassall. These have 

 all been received on deposit, with the understanding, however, that 

 the duplicate material is subject to exchange with other museums. 

 The helminthological collection of the TJ. S. National Museum is now, 

 with one or two exceptions, the largest in the world. 



In addition to the material above mentioned, a collection of para- 

 sites of seals, obtained by the Fur-Seal Investigation Commission in 

 Alaska, Mas received from the Bureau of Animal Industry. 



Owing to limited space it is impossible to satisfactorily arrange the 

 study series. There is no exhibition series. No comprehensive plans 

 for the further development of the section can be carried out until 

 more room is provided. 



Doctor Stiles has completed an extensive revision of the adult ces- 

 todes of hares and rabbits. This paper was published in the Proceed- 

 ings of the National Museum, lie has also published, as a bulletin of 

 the Depiutment of Agricultuie, a paper on tlie tapeworms of poultry. 

 Doctors Stiles and Hassall have prepared a paper on tlie parasites 

 collected in Alaska by the FurSeal Investigation Commission. An 

 extensive report upon certain parasites of meat inspection, by Doctor 

 Stiles, is also ready for the press. 



The catalogue entries for the year cover nearly .3,000 numbers. 



