40 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1901. 



Navy stationed in the Philippine islands and in other of the new pos- 

 sessions have made important contributions, having in some cases been 

 furnished with special outfits to facilitate their work of collecting. 

 Representatives of the Department of State abroad have also been 

 instrumental in securing interesting- material. Special acknowledg- 

 ments are due to the Quartermaster's Department of the Army for 

 many courtesies in connection with the transportation of specimens 

 and out tits to and from distant points. The relations of the Museum 

 to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U. S. Fish Commission, the Bio- 

 logical Survey and the Divisions of Entomology and Botany of the 

 Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of American Ethnology 

 in regard to collections transmitted are referred to elsewhere. 



EXPOSITIONS. 



Pmi-American Exposition, Buffalo, JV. Y. — This exposition opened 

 on May 1, 1901, and will continue until November 1. The Smith- 

 sonian Institution and National Museum are represented on the Gov- 

 ernment board of management by the head curator of biology, Dr. 

 Frederick W. True, with the chief clerk, Mr. W. V. Cox, acting as 

 child' special agent and also as secretary of the board. An account 

 of the collection exhibited by the Museum will be found in the Appen- 

 dix of tins Report. 



The participation by the Museum in the expositions held in different 

 parts of the country at such short intervals during recent years has 

 had both its advantages and disadvantages, the former undoubtedly 

 preponderating. Through the allotments from the special appropria- 

 tions made for these expositions the Museum has been able to secure, 

 indirectly, many important additions to its collections, material which 

 it might otherwise be long in obtaining; the development of its exhi- 

 bition or educational features has been greatly stimulated; its existence, 

 its objects, and its needs have been made widely known, and, what is 

 no less a part of the functions of a national institution, the formation 

 and growth of museums elsewhere have been promoted. The disad- 

 vantages arise chiefly from the haste necessary in preparing the exhib- 

 its, which causes serious interference with the regular work of the 

 Museum. The time available for all preparations seldom exceeds a 

 year or a year and a half. The display must, in greater part at least, 

 consist <>| novelties either as to the objects themselves or the manner 

 of presenting them, as the large expositions draw their attendance from 

 all parts of the country and a repetition of the same exhibit would 

 interest but few. After the drawing up of the plans, the entire work 

 must be pushed forward with the utmost speed, and toward the close 

 often under high pressure, to insure its completion within the specified 

 limit. The collections must be overhauled for desirable specimens, 

 and oew ones must be sought through the agency of field expeditions 



