CONTENTS. 



Subjects v 



Letter ok transmittal vii 



Table of contents ix 



List of illustrations xiii 



Section L — Report of the Assistant Secretary, in charge of the National 



Museum. 



A. — General considerations 3 



Early history of the Museum 4 



Progress in the work of the Museum 5 



Necessity for a National Museum 6 



Possibilities of the future 7 



Possibilities of increase and improvement 7 



The necessity for a new Museum Building 10 



Appreciation by foreign nations , 11 



The relations of the Museum to the Smithsonian Institution 12 



The educational work of the Museum 16 



B. — Organization and scope of the Museum 17 



C— Special topics of the year 19 



The Cincinnati E j^hibitiou 19 



The proposed statue to Professor Baird 19 



The Capron collection 19 



Increasing growth of the collections 19 



Rearrangement of the exhibition halls 19 



Transfer of disbursements from the Department of the Interior 20 



The collection of lisnug animals 20 



D. — The condition of the collections 20 



Increase of the collections 20 



Census of the collections 21 



Catalogue entries 23 



Installation of collections and assignment of space 24 



E.— The Museum staff 26 



The scientific staff 26 



The administrative staff 28 



F. — Review of work in the scientific departments 28 



Arts and industries 29 



Ethnology 30 



American aboriginal pottery 31 



Prehistoric anthropology . ; 31 



Mammals 32 



Birds 32 



Birds' eggs 33 



Reptiles and batrachians 33 



IX 



