REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 73 



crowded condition of the court was relieved by removiiii;' tlie plants 

 and vertebrates from the slope-top cases to the wall cases, alloNving 

 eight slope-to]) cases to be discarded. Thirty-two of these cases remain 

 for the exhibition oi' invertebrate fossils. The phmts and vertebrates 

 are being arranged in the wall cases, with the four corners of the room 

 occnpied by large slabs of tracks, standing on screens. All the fossil 

 insects in the department have been asseml)led and appropriately 

 mounted with figures on tiles. This collection is now on exhibition in 

 a Hat-top case. 



Considerable time has been expended in caring for the paleozoic col- 

 lections of the Geological Survey, 20 boxes having been unpacked and 

 the specimens washed and provisionally assorted. 



Work on the paleozoic plants will be pushed to completion by Mr. 

 David White, on his return to Washington. The exhibits of the meso- 

 zoic and cenozoie i»l;ints are nearing completion, and the numuscript 

 for the labels is nearly ready for the i>rinter. Three additional eases 

 are retpiired by Professor Ward, which, with the 7 alieady assigned, 

 will permit of 5 being dev^oted to tlie Lacoe collection of paleozoic; plants 

 and the other 5 to mesozoic and cenozoie plants. If sufficient cases 

 can be provided, it will no doubt be possible to install an exhibit of 

 vertebrate fossils, under the supervision of Mr. Lucas, which will prove 

 very attractive and instructive. 



The invertebrate fossils exhibited and stored in the 32 slope-top cases 

 will re«iuire nnieh labor m connection with tlie selecting, mounting, 

 and working up of nearly 400 boxes now in storage. Much of this 

 material in storage is the property of the (Geological Survey, but is all 

 at the disposal of the Museum as soon as an opportunity occurs to 

 work it uj). 



The study series practically remains in the same condition as formerly 

 This collection also reipiires much work to remove the duplicate mate- 

 rial and to clean and enter upon the Museum registers all material 

 desirable for the j)ernianent collections. 



Mr. Schuchert has continued his studies of fossil Brachiopoda, and it 

 is hoped that a paper resulting from this work, to be entitled "■ Synopsi-sof 

 North and South American Fossil Brachiopoda, including Bibliography 

 and Synonymy" will soon be ready for publication. The special studies 

 of Dr. Dall are referred to under the head of the department of mollusks. 



Material in the custody of this department has been lent for study to 

 Prof. John M. Clarke, Albany, N. Y.; to Prof. William B. Clark, Johns 

 Hopkius University, and to Prof. J. F. Whiteaves, of the Geological 

 Survey of Canada. Fossils have been sent to Mr. E. O. Ulrich, of jSTew- 

 port, Ky., and to Prof. John M. Clarke for identification, and the 

 Museum is under obligations to these gentlemen for their courtesy in 

 this connection. 



Although there is a great (juantity of most interesting nuiterial for 

 study and descrijition on hand in all of the various collections of this 



