REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. oo 
Excellent exhibition materials in the line of vertebrate fossils, 
including part of a skeleton with a skull of the curious amphibial 
Diplocaulus copet from the Permian of Texas; a skull of Mono- 
clonius; a skull, partial skeleton, and two hind paddles of Tylo- 
saurus; aud an articulated series of caudal vertebra of Platycarpus 
are among the more important accessions. Mention should be made 
of the addition to the exhibition series of the mounted skeleton of 
Dimetrodon gigas, which was secured some few years ago. This 
forms the most complete restoration of this extraordinary animal 
that has thus far been secured by any museum in the world. 
Museum work, as in other departments, suffered through interrup- 
tions, including the closing of the exhibition halls, incidental to the 
war, the head curator himself being engaged a part of the time in 
procuring for the National Research Council important materials 
needed in newly devised apparatus. Continual demands were made 
upon the department throughout the entire period of the war for 
materials for experimental purposes, and it is felt that the depart- 
ment fully justified itself in its capacity for supplying that which 
was needed. 
Advantage was taken of the relief from all exhibition work caused 
by the closing of the halls, to complete the records and attend to other 
work such as had heretofore suffered more or less neglect through 
pressure of other duties. . 
Incidental mention may be made of the preparation of 100 lots in 
sets comprising 21 specimens each, illustrating the secular decay of 
rocks and intended primarily for distribution to the agricultural 
schools. Considerable progress was also made in the preparation of 
100 sets of upward of 80 specimens each of ores and minerals which 
are intended for distribution as occasion may demand. This is a 
work which is ordinarily done at odd moments, as no funds are 
directly available for the purpose. 
Textiles—To the collections under the charge of the curator of 
textiles, which, besides textiles, embrace wood technology, medicine, 
food, and animal and vegetable products, the most important addi- 
tion was the collection received by transfer from the Office of the 
Surgeon General of the War Department, consisting of apparatus, 
hospital appliances, and field equipment used by the medical, dental, 
and sanitary corps in the war with Germany, including examples 
of all kinds of equipment of a thousand-bed hospital overseas. At the 
end of the year this was being made ready for the public in connec- 
tion with the war collections on the ground floor of the natural his- 
tory building. 
Among the gifts were medicinal plants, pharmaceutical products, 
pile fabrics, novelty dress fabrics, leather cloth, and other waterproof 
textiles extensively used during the war, knitting and crocheting 
