REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1912. 37 



nection with the several divisions, was entirely satisf actor}', and by 

 the close of the year all of the halls in the new building devoted to 

 ethnology and historic archeology had been opened to the public, 

 although many details of arrangement still remained to be carried 

 out. The work upon the collection of prehistoric archeology was 

 well advanced and will be completed during the current year. 



DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY. 



The additions to the several divisions of this department numbered 

 ov«r 168,000 specimens, and included much material of exceptional 

 value and interest. Besides the customary transfers from Govern- 

 ment bureaus, several important explorations were represented, as de- 

 tailed in a later connection. The regions in which these vrere prin- 

 cipally conducted were British East Africa and Abyssinia, Kashmir 

 and the region of the Altai Mountains in Asia, British Columbia and 

 Alberta, New Mexico, the Panama Canal Zone, Peru, and the Bahama 

 Islands. The collections in the custody of the department were main- 

 tained in good condition and some important research work was car- 

 ried on, but most attention was given to the public installations, with 

 which considerable progress was made. 



Mammals. — The British East African expedition of Mr. Paul J. 

 Eainey furnished the principal accession to this division, consisting 

 of about 3,400 mammals, of which over 700 are large game. Among 

 the smaller forms were many new to science. Dr. W. L. Abbott con- 

 tributed several hundred specimens from Kashmir, and Mr. A. deC. 

 Sowerby transmitted a small collection from China. The Smithson- 

 ian expedition which accompanied Dr. A. O. AVlieeler on his topo- 

 graphical survey of the boundary line between British Columbia and 

 Alberta obtained a good representation of the mammals of that 

 region. Mr, E. deK. LefRngwell presented a fine series of skins and 

 skulls of the mountain sheep and the skulls of three polar bears from 

 Alaska, and Dr. Theodore Lyman, of Harvard University, donated 

 the skin and skull of a mountain sheep from the State of Washing- 

 ton, representing a form now probably extinct. Acknowledgments 

 are due to Mr. George L. Harrison, jr., of Philadelphia, for the gift 

 to the Institution of $500, to be expended in supplying desiderata in 

 the mammal collection of the Museum, and during the year 81 speci- 

 mens, mostly of rare species, were purchased from this fund, among 

 them being a number of skeletons and skulls of chimpanzees and 

 gorillas from West Africa. Mr. Harrison also presented several 

 skulls of Gazella dorcas. 



The work of tanning the large skins, begun some time ago, was 

 brought up to date, with the exception of the material from the 

 Eainey expedition, which was not received until in June. The col- 

 lection of mammal skins is now for the most part in excellent con- 



