THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 499 



of this vast field; and as the American race is a unit, of which the 

 tribes in our own territory constitute a considerable part, it appears 

 to be our duty to take up this work in a comprehensive way. Thus 

 would be built up not only a National Museum, but an American 

 Museum in the widest sense. This applies not only to anthropology, 

 but to the other great departments of the museum. It will be im- 

 possible to carry on such a work without turning over to the De- 

 partment of Anthropology the entire present building, with all 

 its laboratory and exhibition space. 



2. The Department of Biology now occupies a large exhibition 

 space in the Smithsonian building and 55,000 square feet in the 

 museum building. Large collections are stored in laboratories and 

 inclosed spaces in the exhibition halls which would be placed on 

 exhibition if space were available. As has already been explained, 

 in a new building there should be available for the Department of 

 Biology 190,000 square feet of exhibition, laboratory, and storage 

 space. 



The present exhibit is more complete than that of the other de- 

 partments of the museum. Of birds there is a large mounted series, 

 one of the finest in existence, but it is so indifferently housed that 

 it fails to make the impression it should. Of mammals there is a 

 good North American series, and there are some excellent exam- 

 ples of exotic species. There is a good and rather large exhibit of 

 the various groups of the lower forms of animals, including an espe- 

 cially fine series of corals and sponges. These are the only series 

 at present exhibited which can be considered at all comprehensive. 

 Of the great groups of fishes, reptiles, and amphibians there is room 

 only for an outline representation. The wonderful variety of form 

 among insects can be scarcely more than suggested in the space 

 available. Of plants there has hitherto been no exhibit worthy of 

 the name, and the space which it has now been possible to set aside 

 is entirely out of proportion to the vast extent and importance of 

 this great kingdom of Nature. 



Every natural-history museum of the first class should have at 

 least two comprehensive exhibition series. The first, the System- 

 atic Series, is a series representing the natural groups, among which 

 all animals and plants, from the highest to the lowest, are divided. 

 The second, the Fanned and Floral Series, is a series showing the 

 animals and plants characteristic of each of the grand divisions of 

 the earth's surface, which naturalists have established as a result 

 of their study of these two kingdoms of Nature. These two great 

 comprehensive exhibits should be supplemented by a number of 

 Special Series, illustrating the more interesting phenomena and 

 phases of life, such as the macroscopic and microscopic structure of 



