REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 41 



Willcox. The entries in the catalogues of this department daring the 



year are 0,323 in number. About 13,000 specimens have been received, 

 giving a total of 408,000 specimens in the entire collection. 



Department of Insects. — More time than in any previous year has been 

 devoted by Dr. G. V. Eiley, Honorary Curator of this department, to the 

 preparation of collections for exhibition. A special series, designed 

 rather for educational use than for museum purposes, was prepared for 

 the Cincinnati Exposition. The installation of a permanent exhibition 

 scries has been commenced in the southeast range. In April Mr. J. B. 

 Smith, Assistant Curator, resigned his position to accept a chair in 

 Rutgers College, New Brunswick. During the Curator's absence, from 

 April to the close of the fiscal year, Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, took charge of the department, and the thanks 

 of the Museum are due to him for his energetic administration of its 

 affairs. Mr. Martin Linell has been appointed aid. 



The work of naming specimens for collectors, the arrangement and 

 selection of material to be sent to specialists for determination, the ar- 

 rangement in permanent shape of the reserve series, and the preserva- 

 tion of the general collection, have received as much attention as op- 

 portunity would allow. 



Several researches of a special character upon Museum material have 

 been made during the year. These are nine in number, and are re- 

 ferred to in the report of the Curator.* 



Twenty collections of more than ordinary interest have been received. 

 About 8,000 specimens have been added to the collections during the 

 year, and 78 catalogue entries have been made. The entire collection 

 now contains, as estimated, G03,000 specimens. 



Department of Marine Invertebrates. — Mr. Richard Rathbun, Honorary 

 Curator, has been unable to devote much of his time during the year to 

 the work of this department, owing to the pressing duties which have 

 been placed upon him in connection with the work of the U. S. Fish 

 Commission. The exhibition hall of this department, in the west end 

 of the Smithsonian building, has been repaired and repainted, and is 

 now open to visitors. The principal accessions have, as usual, been 

 obtained from the Fish Commission, although these have been far less 

 numerous than in any previous year, since the Fish Commission has 

 lately retained its collections of marine animals with a view to their 

 being studied and reported upon before being transferred to the Mu- 

 seum. For this reason probably not more than three hundred speci- 

 mens have been added to the collection during the year. Interesting 

 collections have been received from Lieut. J. F. Moser, U.S. Navy; 

 Mr. Henry Hemphill; Dr. Louis F. EL Birt, of the Nicaragua Canal 

 Construction Company; .Mr. Romyn Hitchcock, who presented a small 

 collection of crustaceans and sponges from Japan, and from Mr. .lames 

 C Swan, of Port Townsend, Washington. 



• See Section u. 



