32 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1915. 



House. The earliest of these belonged to Betty Taylor, daughter of 

 President Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850. The next, a lavender silk dress, 

 was worn at the ^\^lite House by Mrs. Fillmore, wife of President 

 Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853. The third, a black moire, was worn 

 by Mrs. Pierce on the occasion of the inauguration of her husband, 

 Franklin Pierce, March 4, 1853. The last, a pale-green brocade, was 

 used by Mrs. Cleveland during the first administration of President 

 Cleveland, 1885-1889. 



In the section of art textiles the acquisitions, all loans, comprised 

 over 100 pieces of lace, besides embroideries, brocades, velvets, tapes- 

 tries, etc. Six tapestries of great beauty and value were also lent for 

 a short period by Messrs. P. W. French & Co., of New York. The 

 room containing this collection was entirely renovated and repainted, 

 the materials were also for the most part rearranged, and where 

 necessary new and more effective backgrounds were substituted. 



As during many successive years, the Museum was indebted to Dr. 

 W. L. Abbott for large collections of the higher animals, one made 

 at his expense in Dutch East Borneo by Mr. H. C. Raven, the other, 

 composed entirely of mammals, obtained by himself in Kashmir. Of 

 no less importance was a collection from the northwest coast of Cuba, 

 secured during an expedition by Mr. John B. Henderson, comprising 

 at least 10,000 mollusks and other invertebrates, nearly 3,000 fishes, 

 and many reptiles and batrachians. The Bureau of Fisheries made 

 extensive deposits of marine invertebrates and fishes ; and Mr. Arthur 

 de C. Sowerby continued to transmit valuable series of vertebrates and 

 insects from little known districts in China. Birds, reptiles, batra- 

 chians, fishes, and marine invertebrates from Panama were contrib- 

 uted by Mr. James Zetek; plants and marine invertebrates in large 

 numbers by the Carnegie Institution of Washington ; and animals of 

 various groups by the Biological Survey. 



Besides those above mentioned, interesting collections of birds were 

 received from Ecuador and Australia. A unique accession consisted 

 of the last of the pair of passenger pigeons which had been so long 

 preserved in the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, and whose death sig- 

 nalized the absolute extinction of this remarkable form. Additional 

 specimens of reptiles and batrachians were obtained from Texas, Cali- 

 fornia, Mexico, and Baluchistan; and of fishes from the Philippine 

 Islands, Formosa, and Panama. 



The most notable contribution of mollusks was a gift from Mr. 

 John B. Henderson of a very large collection of selected and gen- 

 erally identified specimens assembled from practically every part of 

 the world. Eight separate transfers of invertebrates by the Bureau 

 of Fisheries were of much scientific value. Four of these consisted of 

 material that had been studied and described and therefore contained 

 -numerous type specimens, and the remainder of new collections ^rom 



