52 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 
important and urgent subjects is a full representation of the useful 
woods, finished to show their adaptability to different purposes. The 
manufacture of paper with the use of wood pulp is an industrial 
problem deserving detailed attention, and there are many others to be 
presented in the direction of the usages of wood in the arts and manu- 
factures, and the extracts from wood which are of great variety and 
utility. 
There is also the further subject of foodstuffs, of which the Mu- 
seum once possessed a large collection, that has greatly deteriorated 
through long storage. It is, nevertheless, exceedingly rich in ex- 
amples of the foods of the Indian peoples of this country and con- 
tains specimens which can not now be duplicated. 
ART TEXTILES. 
While textiles of high artistic craftsmanship have always had a 
place in the organization of the department of arts and industries, 
and an important loan collection of laces was formerly exhibited, cir- 
cumstances prevented, for a number of years, the continuance of 
activities in this line. The subject, in fact, lay dormant until 1908 
when unexpected assistance was tendered the Museum, and its ac- 
ceptance has resulted in the building up of a collection remarkable 
for its comprehensiveness and for its worth. The proposition came 
from Mrs. James W. Pinchot, who has been supported and aided by 
many ladies of this city, a committee being formed and a few ardent 
devotees of the movement giving much of their time to the promotion 
of its interests. Mrs. Pinchot herself entered into the matter with 
deepest concern, obtaining desirable materials from every possible 
source, giving and lending on a greater scale than any other, and 
during long periods she engaged daily in the installation and labeling 
of the specimens. 
The collection assembled through these means is composed pri- 
marily of laces which in number and variety are excelled in only 
two other museums in this country. Of other art fabrics, such as 
velvets, brocades, and embroideries, there is also an excellent presenta- 
tion, and even very different though associated subjects of art, in the 
shape of fans, enamels, jewelry, etc., have been admitted. With this 
combination the collection is naturally very beautiful throughout, 
and in large part it is also markedly brilliant from the display of 
rich coloring and design. It likewise reaches back through a period 
of several centuries, bringing down to us the culture and refinement 
of the past, as recorded by skilled designers and craftsmen, in many 
rare and treasured heirlooms. 
In reviving and fostering this museum branch, which offers so 
much of interest and pleasure to the casnal visitor, the main idea has 
been, by affording acquaintance with the various kinds of art fabrics, 
