REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 33 



Museum during the year, aggregating about 180,000 speci- 

 mens, among which may be here mentioned ethnological mate- 

 rial collected by officers of the Army and Navy in southern 

 California, British Columbia, and Alaska, some facsimiles of 

 ancient codices presented by the Due de Loubat, and aborig- 

 inal objects of much interest from Brazil and other parts of 

 South America. Special attention is also called to the valua- 

 ble collection transmitted from the Far East by Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott, who has already contributed so largely to the Museum 

 as the result of his extensive explorations. 



Among other newly acquired collections of interest are 

 objects of flint, illustrating the stone-shaping art of the primi- 

 tive Egyptians, presented by Mr. Seton-Karr, of London, 

 and a very full series of stone implements and other relics, 

 principally from Maryland, presented by Mr. J. D. McGuire. 



The biological department has been enriched by collections 

 of special interest gathered by collaborators of the Museum 

 in various parts of the world, including marine zoological 

 specimens gathered in connection with the expeditions of the 

 Fish Commission steamers Albatross and Fish Hawk in the 

 Pacitic Ocean and the region of Porto Rico. It has been pos- 

 sible to secure by purchase upwards of a thousand specimens 

 of North and Central American birds, and by donation there 

 has been received a large number of the eggs and nests of 

 Philippine birds. 



Among the geological additions of the year are several 

 thousand fossils from various regions, one of the most inter- 

 esting being a fairly complete skeleton of an adult female 

 mastodon from Michigan. 



During the past twenty years it has been possible for the 

 Museum to distribute duplicate specimens to a considerable 

 number of institutions of learning in this country, and very 

 much more could be accomplished in this way were funds 

 available for the preparation of additional collections of this 

 kind. Wherever these series have been sent, they are highly 

 appreciated, and the demands from other institutions for simi- 

 lar contributions are constantly increasing. 



It is all important that every object exhibited in the Museum 

 be suitably and permanently labeled, and while it is gratify - 

 sm 1901 3 



