INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



On the occasion of tlie luternational Exliibition, in 1876, certain appro- 

 priations were made by Congress to tlie Smithsonian Institntion and 

 the United States Fish Commission. The former was called npon to 

 prepare an exhibition to illustrate the economical value of the mineral 

 and animal products of the country, while the latter was to perform a 

 similar task for the national fisheries. It was subsequently found desir- 

 able for the Smithsonian Institution to unite with the Indian Bureau in 

 displaying the condition- of the aboriginal tribes of the United States in 

 prehistoric and modern times. Four distinct departments of work were 

 thus provided for, (1) an ethnological exhibition, (2) an exhibition of 

 minerals, (3) an exhibition of animal resources, and (4) a fishery exhibi- 

 tion. The first and second were arranged on opposite sides of the nave 

 in the Government building, at Philadelphia, and at its north end. The 

 latter, it was found, could not be separated, since the character of the 

 specimens and the methods of arrangement required were the . same. 

 They were arranged in one series on the north side of the east transept 

 and to the east of the nave extending north to the beginning of the 

 mineral series. 



The following catalogue is a simiile enumeration of the objects exhib- 

 ited in this series, and illustrative of the animal resources and the fish- 

 eries of the United States. It is essentially a reproduction of the card- 

 catalogue i)repared in 187G and still in use in the administration of the 

 collection, which, having been greatly augmented by systematic efforts 

 in the United States and by donations from foreign governments, now 

 forms an imx)ortant section of the United States National Museum. The 

 catalogue has been as far as practicable made comi)lete up to the present 

 time, in so far as it relates to Korth America. No effort has, however, 

 been made to include the collateral series of specimens from foreign 

 countries. 



The plan of arrangement is fully shown in the Table of Contents. 

 Beginning with the Useful and Injurious Animals, it next takes up the 

 Means of Pursuit and Capture, then, successively, the Methods 

 OF Preparing the:5i for Use, The Useful Products, and, finally, 



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