74 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, l90l. 



Dr. Dyar has spent much time in the identification and arrangement of exotic 

 mat. 'rial, being assisted, particularly in the mounting and labeling of new material, 

 l.\ Mr. \. X. Caudell, of the Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology. 



Mr. Coquilletl lias done much work on the Diptera, Mr. Ashmead on the Hynien- 

 optera, and Mr. Schwarz, as far as his impaired health would permit, on the 

 ( loleoptera. 



Mr. Currie has worked on the Odonata and Myrmeleonidse, having named most of 

 the North American insects in these groups and mounted and labeled a good series 

 for the systematic collection. Lack of room, however, has prevented their perma- 

 nent arrangement, most, of the available space and drawers being taken up by the 

 ( >rthoptera. 



The exotic and duplicate ( 'oleoptera and the Arachnida and Myriapoda have been 

 removed to the east-south range gallery. Mr. Banks has rearranged much of the 

 Arachnida and has transferred the vials containing the Marx collection and the reg- 

 ular collection to museum jars tilled with alcohol, thus avoiding the danger of the 

 material drying up. 



Work has also been .lone by Professor Cook on the Myriapoda and by Mr. Ileide- 

 mann on the I Ietniptera-lleteroptera. 



Mr. F. V. Coville, honorary curator, Division of Plants, furnishes 

 the following report on the progress of work in the herbarium: 



In the last annual report a description of the new insect-proof case was given, and 

 reference was made to the installation of SO of these on the floor of the gallery over 

 the southern range. In accordance with the plan of gradual replacement outlined 

 at that time, 14 of these cases have recently been set up along the west wall of the 

 main balcony, and 30 additional ones will shortly be installed on the exhibition 

 balcony. It has been found that these eases, with their double doors, are well adapted 

 to the bisulphide treatment at any time, and that insect pests, when eradicated, may 

 be kept in control by a liberal use of naphthaline in the cases. 



The systematic stamping of the sheets in the herbarium has been temporarily dis- 

 continued on account of the insufficiency of our force. All sheets of specimens, 

 however, which are loaned for study to persons outside of the Museum are stamped 

 and recorded before transmission, so that in this way the numbering of the herbarium 

 is slowly progressing. 



During the last few months the work of rearranging the herbarium according to 

 the sequence established by Englerand Prantl in "Die Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien" 

 has progressed satisfactorily, the "Index Generum Phanerogamorum " of De Dalla 

 Tot re and Harms being taken as a guide. The ferns and fern allies, gymnosperms 

 and monocotyledons, are now arranged on the modern sequence. 



Owing to the resignation of one of our three preparators on January 15, 1901, the 

 work of mounting was greatly delayed, and the services of three temporary prepara- 

 tors were secured by requisitions drawn for the purpose in April of the present year. 

 One has assisted Mr. Maxon in labeling and mounting the lichens of the Willey 

 collection; another has mounted miscellaneous plants, and the third has repaired 

 such sheets in the main herbarium as were found to be impaired by the attacks of 

 insect pests. The total number of specimens mounted during the year, exclusive of 

 the cryptogams, is is, 177. < >wing to the fact that many of the latter are mounted on 

 a single sheet it is not possible to make even an approximate estimate of their num- 

 ber, hut the collections of m<i>ses and lichens, in particular, have been carefully 

 labeled and all accumulations of material mounted. Our catalogue books show a 

 total of -I.e. 17 mounted sheets that have been stamped and recorded during the year. 

 The great majority of these have been distributed into the general herbarium. 



Mr. Poland M. Harper was engaged by contract to determine and label the large 

 collection of plants transmitted by the Fish Commission, to which reference is made 

 in another part of this report. 



