34 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1905. 



has grown so large that there is no longer storage space for it except in 

 gross, in packing boxes, in unsafe buildings. In this division during 

 the year over 3,550 specimens have been trimmed, labeled, and 

 wrapped for the educational series of duplicates. 



In the division of stratigraphic paleontology the collections have 

 heretofore been divided into an exhibition and a study or strati- 

 graphic series. The stratigraphic series, in which the faunas of par- 

 ticular horizons and regions are kept together, is naturally incom- 

 plete, but growing rapidly. With the purchase of the Ulrich and 

 Rominger collections it was decided to inaugurate a new series with 

 these two collections as a basis, one in which the various groups of 

 invertebrate fossils were arranged biologically. Up to the time of his 

 resignation, September 1, Mr. Charles Schuchert, assistant curator of 

 the division, was mainly occupied in the preparation of school collec- 

 tions and in duties connected with the Louisiana Purchase Exposi- 

 tion. For the school collections over 60,000 specimens were used, 

 and made up into 500 sets, some of which have already been sent out. 



Mr. R. S. Bassler succeeded Mr. Schuchert, and during four months 

 was occupied with the preparation, editing, and proof reading of the 

 Bulletin on the type specimens in the collection. This also recjuired 

 tT.ie labeling and placing in final museum condition of the types of over 

 1,000 species of invertebrate fossils, represented by over 5,000 speci- 

 mens. Besides putting into final shape the various accessions of the 

 year, all of the pelecypods and a considerable portion of the gastro- 

 pods and brachipods of the biologic series have been registered, 

 labeled, and numbered. They occupy 45 standard drawers and com- 

 prise 2,294 species, represented by 16,710 specimens. The number of 

 cards added to the systematic catalogue was 1,500. Thirty-four 

 boxes of unstudied material were removed from storage and their 

 contents classified and properly arranged. 



In the sect ion of vertebrate paleontology a very satisfactory advance 

 litis been made in (he appointment of two preparators and one assist- 

 ant preparator, whose work has resulted in the completion of the 

 mount of the skeleton of Triceratops, the first one ever prepared, and 

 one of the most conspicuous additions to the exhibition series. A 

 large amount of material stored in boxes has been overhauled and the 

 collection partly systematized. 



The principal work in paleobotany has consisted in cleaning, assort- 

 ing, and systematizing the collection, and in preparing card and type 

 catalogues. 



THE EXHIBITION COLLECTIONS. 



A part of the Polynesian collection of ethnology, obtained mainly 

 during early expeditions, which has been on exhibition in the north 

 gallery of the west hall, was removed to one of the laboratories for 

 study and fuller identification, and in its place was installed a large 



