218 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1901. 



our foremost photographers, Mr. T. W. Smillie, photographer of the 

 Smithsonian Institution and National Museum, and Miss Frances B. 

 Johnston, an artist of international reputation. The difficulties in the 

 case were very great. The exhibits were installed in the darkest sec- 

 tion of the Government building, and owing to the interference of 

 timbers and drapery were very unevenly lighted. The glass fronts 

 of the cases were so inserted that they could not be removed, and the 

 reflections proved extremely troublesome. Selecting a Sunday morn- 

 ing for the work, we avoided the crowds that tilled the building during 

 the week days. Two sheets of dark cloth were secured, each about 

 14 feet square, and while 1 one of these was tacked over the back of the 

 case as a background for the group, the other, held by two men on step- 

 ladders behind the camera, served to prevent reflections in the glass. 

 The woodwork of the cases interfered somewhat with the view in sev- 

 eral cases, but by painting out and retouching the parts have been 

 restored, and a reasonably uniform result has been secured. 



It may be noted that at the time of the handing in of this paper the 

 exhibit is on view, about one-half in the Charleston Exposition and the 

 remainder in the halls of the National Museum. 



THE EXHIBIT MADE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY. 



By George P. Merrill, 

 Head ( 'urator. 



The exhibit made by the Department of Geology at Buffalo was 

 directly in line with that in the Museum at Washington, differing only 

 in that special series were selected which seemed best suited to the 

 purpose, when the place, time, character of the Exposition, and limited 

 amount of space (1,520 sq. ft.) were taken into consideration. (See 

 Plates 58 and 59.) 



The work of preparation was begun early in the year and continued 

 until the installation was completed at Buffalo on May 1. While by 

 no means the entire force of the Department was thus occupied, 

 nevertheless, the matter was always uppermost and interfered seriously 

 with the ordinary routine work of the Museum. 



An attempt was made to procure for the Exposition a fairly com- 

 plete skeleton of a mastodon, and Messrs. Lucas and Stewart made 

 several excursions for the purpose of investigating reported finds of 

 such remains; but the results were in all cases unsatisfactory. As will 

 be noted later, however, a small series of more or less fragmentary 

 materia] was obtained. 



Through a joint arrangement with the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey , sufficient funds were obtained for a model of a skeleton of Triceratops 

 prorsus, the work of preparation of which occupied one preparator 



