REPORT ON THE SECTION OF MATERIA MEDICA 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



By Jamks M. Flint, U. S. Navy, Honorary Curator. 



Since the last report from this section was written, the work of 

 arranging-, displaying, and providing with descriptive labels the large 

 number of specimens comprising the exhibit has been systematically 

 continued. With the exception of the small collection of medicines of 

 the North American Indians, and the Chinese and Japanese drugs, 

 every specimen of drug has now its printed descriptive label attached. 

 In addition to these, of the 862 illustrations of plants and animals in 

 the exhibit, 350 have their descriptive labels in place, 460 are printed 

 and ready for display, and the manuscript for the remainder is in the 

 hands of the printer. 



Accessions to the number of 169 have been received during the year, 

 mostly from Messrs. Powers & Weightman, of Philadelphia, and Parke, 

 Davis & Co., of Detroit, in answer to requests for specified articles to 

 fill vacancies. Some novel and interesting additions have been made 

 to the botanical illustrations, consisting of herbarium specimens of 

 indigenous medicinal plants, not otherwise illustrated, with the char- 

 acters of each plant displayed by drawings of the magnified organs. 

 These were prepared with g\ ^at skill by Mr. Theodore Holm, tempo- 

 rary assistant in this section. As mounted in the swinging frames, 

 they make an attractive addition to the collection. One hundred and 

 two i)hotographs of indigenous i)lants have also been mounted, and 

 the descriptive labels prepared and printed. 



The collection remains without material change in condition, loca- 

 tion, classification, or arrangement since the last rei)ort. The acces- 

 sions above mentioned were distributed principally among the '• chem- 

 ical products " and the " indigenous vegetable products." 



The following summary shows the number of specimens in each 

 series : 



Exhibition series 3, 335 



Reserve series 1, 223 



Duplicate series 815 



179 



