82 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1920. 



mens which can not be placed in an ordinary case because of their 

 * xcessive height have been submitted in connection with the estimates 

 for exhibition cases for the next fiscal year. In the bird hall the 

 entire collection has been gone over, cleaned, and rearranged in con- 

 nection with the making of a card catalogue of the specimens ex- 

 hi ! iited. This was a time-consuming and laborious task due in consid- 

 erable measure to the cases, which, in order to be made dustproof, are 

 so constructed that several men specially trained are needed for open- 

 ing and closing the cases. The verification of numbers and identifica- 

 tions also consumed considerable time. The rare and extinct birds 

 which had been removed for safe-keeping during the time the ex- 

 hibition halls were occupied by the offices of the War Eisk Bureau, 

 were restored to their places in the exhibit. A number of newly 

 mounted birds were also added, and the Flamingo group, practically 

 rebuilt by Mr. William Palmer, was reinstalled among the habitat 

 groups in the bird hall. 



As there seemed small hope of being able in the near future to 

 open up to the public the north and northwest ranges of the second 

 floor, where the District of Columbia fauna was exhibited, the latter 

 was reinstalled in the whale hall as a temporary expedient. This 

 heterogeneous exhibit not only interferes with the proper display of 

 the smaller whales, but has made it impossible to make speedy prog- 

 ress with the plan to build habitat groups in which to display the 

 birds of the District, though one has been finished. Some additions 

 were made to the local exhibit of reptiles and amphibians. 



In the various divisions the curatorial work has progressed as 

 usual. In the division of mammals the rearrangement of some of 

 the overcrowded skin eases was begun upon the receipt of four unit 

 storage cases. The arrangement of the small and medium skulls in 

 the basement was completed and work done on the large skulls in 

 the attic has greatly improved their condition. The rearrangement 

 of the skeletons in the attic also made some headway, the proper 

 casing facilities having been furnished. 



In the division of birds the crowded condition of some of the 

 groups necessitated respacing of a large number of cases. The ac- 

 cumulations of eggs for several years past, numbering between 2,300 

 and 2,500, were arranged in trays, with cotton partitions between the 

 specimens, labeled, and distributed in the collection. The arrange- 

 ment of the osteological collection in quarter-unit storage cases was 

 completed during the year, enough new cases having been provided 

 to permit the elimination of the old mahogany base cases previously 

 in use. The entire collection of cleaned skeletons, numbering over 

 5,677 specimens, is now readily accessible and card catalogued. The 

 work of arranging the collection of skeletons is almost exclusively 

 due to the volunteer services of Dr. A. Wetmore. Considerable time 



