REPORT OP ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 75 



It is proposed to rearrange and relabel a ])<)rtion of tlie Egyptian 

 collection and to reinstall the Jewish and Mohammedan collections. 

 The method of arranging- and exhibiting- objects of Christian cere- 

 monial in other museums will be studied. 



About 270 labels for specimens luive been prepare<l during^ the year. 



Dr. Adler states that it is desirable that opi>ortnnity and facMlities 

 be altbrded for the preparation of a descrij)tion of the Bengniat loan 

 collection of Jewish ceremonials, which is one of the most complete 

 and valuable collections of its kind in existence. 



The total number of specimens received was 628, the number of speci- 

 mens now in the collection being- 3 648. There were 50 catalogue 

 entries made during the year. 



Graphic arts. — Although Mr. S. E. Koehler, of the Boston ^Museum 

 of Fine Arts, is still in charge of this section, he has been able to give 

 but little attention to the work during- the past year. The most impor- 

 tant accession was a series of photographs from paintings, obtained 

 by purchase. The only other addition was a chromo-collo<i^raph, pre- 

 sented by the Heliot^'pe Printing- Company of Boston. 



As previously stated, tiie collection has now reached a stage where 

 very few additions of value can be expected, except by purchase. 



Materia medica. — Dr. James M. Flint, U. S. Navy, honorary curator, 

 states that the specimens in the exhibition and study series are in 

 remarkably good condition, considering- their ])erishable nature. For a 

 considerable portion of the year the exhibition series, which is installed 

 in the northeast ccmrt, was not accessible to the i)ublic owing to the 

 preparations for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which made it 

 necessary to close some of the halls temporarily. After this work had 

 been completed and the exhibit again rendered accessible, the speci- 

 mens were carefully examined and everything- put in order. Xo etfort 

 has been made to increase the collection, owing to lack of space for the 

 exhibition of any more material. Manuscript for a number of labels 

 has been prejiared. 



As it is impossible under present conditions to do very much toward 

 the further development of the collection, Dr. Flint has given a large 

 proportion of his time to the investigation of the Foraminifera collected 

 by the U. S. Fish Commission. As a result of his studies he has pre- 

 ])ared a paper entitled ''A Descriptive Catalogue of the llecent Forami- 

 nifera collected by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross, and 

 MOW on exhilntion in the National ^Museum." This paper is printed in 

 I'art 1 1 of the i^resent volunie. A reference was made in the last annual 

 report to the instrument devised by J)r. Flint for the exhibition of 

 Foraminifera and other microscopic specimens. 



The (uirator states that the direction in whicli the collection of 

 materia medica can be most advantageously extended is toward a more 

 comi)lete exhiljit of organic chemical products, now so extensively 

 used in medicine. 



