26 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



every heavy rain. The rotunda and foui- main halls have been entirely repainted, 

 and this work was being extended to the four courts at tlie close of the year. This 

 extensive renovation will place the exhibition halls in a more presentable condition 

 than at any j^revions time. 



Many new cases, both for exhibition purposes and for storage, have been con- 

 structed, and much has been accomplished in the rel)uilding and repair of old furni- 

 ture and fixtures. 



Orgnnizalion and stuff. — One new division (Physical Anthropology) has been added 

 to the Department of Anthropology, and one new section (Lower Alga^) to the 

 Department of Biology. The scientific organization of the ]Museum, therefore, now 

 comprises 9 divisions and 4 sections in the Department of Anthropology; 9 divisions 

 and 13 sections in the Department of Biology; and 3 divisions and 3 sections in the 

 Department of Geology. The scientific staff includes 3 head curators, 17 curators, 

 13 assistant curators, 15 custodians, 12 aids, 4 associates, and 2 collaboi'ators, mak- 

 ing a total of 66 persons, of whom only about one-half are paid employees of the 

 Museum, the remainder serving in a volunteer or honorary capacity. 



Mr. W. H. Holmes, head curator of the Department of Anthropology, having been 

 aiJi)ointed Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Prof. Otis T. Mason has been 

 designated to assume his museum duties as acting head curator. 



Dr. A. Hrdlicka took charge of the newly organized Division of Physical Anthro- 

 • nlogy on May 1, as assistant curator, and Dr. G. T. Moore, of the Department of 

 Agriculture, became custodian of the new Section of the Lower Algte on I\Iay 25. 

 The designation of "Sir. W. T. Swingle has been changed to that of custodian of the 

 Section of Higher Alg;e. 



On December 31 Mr. Charles T. Simpson resigned his position as principal aid in 

 the Division of ]Mo]lusks, being succeeded by Mr. Paul Bartsch, whose place was in 

 turn taken by Mr. W. B. Maishall, appointed aid on Aj)ril 1. Mr. R. G. Paine was 

 made an aid in the Division of Reptiles and Batrachians on April 6. 



Addillovs to the (■olk'ctioiis. — The number of accessions received during the year was 

 1,643, about 230 more than in 1902, comprising in all about 236,000 specimens. This 

 increases the total number of specimens in the national collections to above 5,650,000. 

 Only the more important additions can be mentioned here. 



One of the most valuable acquisitions by the Department of Anthropology con- 

 sisted of material recently eollecteil by Dr. W. L. Abbott in Sumatra ami the Straits 

 Settlements, and illustrating the native arts and industries of a region but poorly 

 represented in American museums. The many objects, numbering over 1,500, secured 

 in the Philippine Islands by the late Col. F. F. Hilder, of the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology, for the Government exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition, have been 

 turned over to the Museum by the Government Board. This collection is of especial 

 interest in that it furnishes much authoritative information regarding the life and 

 customs of the natives of the largest of our new possessions. Dr. Frank Russell, 

 formerly of the Bureau of American Ethnology, secured important material from 

 the Pima Indians of southern Arizona, which, together with many ethnological 

 objects from other sources, have been transferred by the Bureau to the custody 

 of the Museum. Several collections made by Lieut. (J. T. Emmons, ol the United 

 States Navy, illustrating the arts of the Chilcat and other Alaskan tribes, have also 

 been acquired. 



An extremely noteworthy collection deposited in the Museum by Mr. S. S. How- 

 land, ot Washington, D. C, consists of objects representing Buddhist religious art, 

 such as bronze and wooden images of Buddha and Buddhist saints, shrmes, temple 

 lamps, and sacred writings on palm leaves, and also of several Oriental manuscripts 

 m Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages. Twenty-eiglit Jewish ceremonial objects 

 from North Africa were obtained from Mr. Ephraiin Demard, of Kearney, N. J., one 

 of the most interesting pieces being an ark of carved wood, containing a ])ar-chment 



