REPORT ON THE SECTION OF FOODS IN THE U. S. NATIONAL 



MUSEUM, 1885. 



By EoMYN Hitchcoce:, Assistant Curator. 



The work in the section of foods, drinks, &c., which includes nar- 

 cotics, the methods of preparing articles of food, and the comparison 

 of the nutritive value of foods, is comprehensive, and the collection can 

 undoubtedly be made one of the most instructive, as well as interesting, 

 in the Museum. Unfortunately, however, so much time has been re- 

 quired by the demands of the textiles collection, especially in preparing 

 for the Exposition at N"ew Orleans, that the work in this section has 

 thus far been almost wholly confined to the routine of cataloguing and 

 preserving the specimens. 



During the six months the following valuable additions have been 

 made : 



A collection of the elements of the human body, from Prof. W. O. 

 Atwater. 



A specimen of Gail Borden's meat biscuit, manufactured in Mexico, 

 from Prof. Spencer F. Baird. 



A collection of the compounds of the human body, from Prof. W. O. 

 Atwater. This collection, in connection with the elements already 

 noticed, is intended to represent the composition of the human body. 

 The specimens are on exhibition with temporary labels attached, but 

 the set is not yet complete. 



The last number of the register of the year 1884 is 480, the last entry 

 of June, 1885, is 547, making the total number of additions G7. 



A statement of the number of specimens in the collection, on exhibi- 

 tion or in reserve, cannot now be made, since an actual count would 

 necessarily include many that will be thrown out, either as duplicates 

 or imperfect specimens, or as having no place in the collection when a 

 systematic arrangement is undertaken. 



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