THE GENESIS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 351 



^'frangeinent aud at'commodatioii, iu revieAAiug the coUectious of the exploring expe- 

 flitiou that had Ireou already opened, openiug thost.' leceutly received aud' ticketing 

 ari'd taking an account ot them. The larger portion has now been gone through 

 with and deposited iu the allotted cases, but not yet rendered intelligible by ineaius. 

 of labeling an'd arrangement. I should expect, however, some brandies of the zoo- 

 logical collections,, mot yet unpacked, and a portion of the botanical, yet to ari'ive. 1 

 anff not prepared at present to make a full report on the proceeds of the explorin"" 

 e'xpedition, but have only to offer a few remarks relating: generally to the objects 

 under my charge. 



The interior arrangement of the hall is not altogether such as I should have oi'igi- 

 Bfally recommended ; V)ut the caseb being alrtiady com]>leted, it remains only to confV>rn> 

 to the plan as far as practicable. By lining the walls wath cases there will be suffi- 

 cient accommodation for the present collections of the Institute, including those of 

 the exploring expedition, and the si)ecimensof American maunfactures already within 

 the walls. At the same time there is no ])rovisiou for future increase in any depart- 

 ment, much less for any new objects that may be contemplated. There is no room for 

 a geological series of the United States, for a library, a gallery of the tine arts, etc. 



The persons at present employed are : 



Mr. Varden, having the immediate supervision of the hall and fixtures. 



Mr. Dana, having charge of mineralogy and geology, and also of corals and Crus- 

 tacea. 



Mr. Brackenridge, having charge of the greenhouse and all botanical collections. 



Messrs. Townsend and Pollard, taxidermists, also having charge of the ornitho- 

 logical department. 



Mr. Falconer, carpenter; constantly occiipied, etc. 



Mr. Campbell, messenger and general assistant. 



All have thus far given entire satisfaction. 



I am not aware that any increase of force ^is necessary. There is, however, one 

 department on which, from the destructible nature of the objects, we are unable to 

 bestow the requisite attention. I alludt; to that of entomology. We have on de- 

 posit the extensive and valuable collec-tion of Count Castleman, and should be 

 iVshamed to allow it to perish in our hands. The collections, too, of the expedition, 

 though not so extensive as was perhaps expected of us, and in part lost with the 

 Penrack, yet it is believed inohule materials that in competent hands might be tli^ 

 means of eliciting facts worth preservation, and having a wider bearing than may 

 he supjiosed by those who have not duly weighed the relationshij)s of the different 

 jiarts of creation. Our gatherings in this l>ranch derive a further consequence from our 

 Veing able to connect them ^^'itl< the vegetable proc^ucts of the widely .separated 

 isjets of the mid-ocean and other unfrequented regions it has been our rare fortune 

 to visit. 



The collections in coqcholygy have only jn part bee^ opened (viz, up to the time 

 of Qur leaving the Fiji Islands), q,nd no portion properly arranged and exhibited; 

 neither at the present momei^t can any space l>e allowed for this purpose. When 

 fully displayed, it is believed tl^at those interested in tl|is branch of science will not 

 be disai)i»ointed as to their extent and value. 



For the ornithological department, and the cUied skiqs of other animals, I must 

 refer to the accompanying list ; promising, however, that there are besides miiny in- 

 teresting specimens in osteology, Itoth of man and the inferior animals. 



Of specinu'iis in spirits, brought by the expedition, we number 208 jars, coijtainiyg 

 insects and ii\iiu)r objects in zoidogy, not less in all than t,000 difFerent species, and 

 895 envelopj^s (d" larger speciiuens. Thpse last include about 900 dififerent species of 

 tishes and L'OO of reptiles, making a toti*I of 5,100 species in spirits, exclusive of (ihe 

 Crustacea, n()ted by Mr. Dana. 



For the botanical department I must refer to the accomj)anying extract from a 

 report l>y Mr. Brackenridge. I inclose also reports on the drawings made during the 



