170 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



of the collections. Owing to the lack of storage room it frequently hap- 

 pens that specimens are temporarily placed wherev^er space can be 

 found for tlieni and rearranged when room can be made available. 



Mr. Lucas has been unable to devote any time to special researches, 

 but the skulls of bears and of far seals have been carefully studied by 

 Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the latter in connection with the ju'esentation of 

 the case of the United States in the Bering Sea question. 



The curator submits the following statement of the condition of the 

 collections: 



The comlition of the collectious is good; the increase, as indicated by the cata- 

 logues, is as follows : 



Mammals 



Birds 



Reptiles ami Batrachians 



Fishes and Elasmobranches. 



Total , 



Last entrj-- 



June30. 1892. June30, 1893 



35, 526 



19, 105 

 29, 325 

 26. 149 



Increase. 



36, 051 

 19, 185 

 29, 340 

 26, 159 



525 

 80 

 15 

 10 



The unniber of specimens on exhibition June 30, 1893, was as follows: 

 Skeletons of — 



Mammals 196 



Birds 83 



Reptiles 41 



Batrachia 9 



Fishes 37 



Elasmobranches 3 



Skulls and specimens illustrating points of morphology, structure, etc 292 



Anatomical models 25 



Total 686 



This total included museum specimens withdrawn for exhibition at the World's 

 Columbian Exposition, but not those which have been purchased especially for that 

 purpose. 



In the World's Fair exhibit from this department an effort has been 

 made to illustrate the methods adopted by the Museum to render the 

 exhibition of anatomical material instructive and attractive. To this 

 end the material exhibited comprised several fully labeled series, illus 

 trating various points of morphology or structure, grouped under the 

 following heads: 



(1) HOMOLOGIE.S OF THE PRINCIPAL BOXE.S IN THE V.\RI()US CLASSES OF VER- 

 TEBRATES. 



(a) General homologies. — Mounted skeleton of a man and a horse* 

 having the principal bones of each labeled. Mounted and disarticulated 

 skeletons of cat, crow, turtle, iguana, frog, and fish arranged in cases 

 side by side, the disarticulated skeletons having the principal bones 



Illustrated in Plate 30. 



