REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 59 



More than a thousand acknowledgments of specimens acquired by 

 gift, loan, and exchange have been written. 



The number of "lots" of specimens received for examination and re- 

 port during the year was three hundred and fifty-seven, fourteen of which 

 were transmitted by Members of Congress. This material included birds, 

 insects, minerals, ores, rocks, fossils, ethnological and archtBoIogical ob- 

 jects, shells, fishes, mammals, plants, oils, earths, reptiles, birds' eggs and 

 nests, skeletons, fibers, coins, marine invertebrates, fossil wood. The 

 specimens were submitted to the Museum curators, and a report em- 

 bodying the opinion of the curator has been prepared in every instance 

 for the signature of the Assistant Secretary and for transmission to the 

 sender. 



By far the larger proportion of the material sent for examination is 

 of very little value to the Museum collections, although occasionally 

 a specimen is retained for addition to the exhibition or study series. The 

 Museum reserves the right, except when special agreement to the con- 

 trary is made, to keep all material sent for examination and report. 



Thirty-one lots of specimens were borrowed by curators to aid them in 

 the identification of Museum material. These included twenty-two col- 

 lections of bird-skins, seven of shells, and three of fossils. The courtesy 

 of the lending was acknowledged by formal letters. 



Duriog the year 5,272 pages of press copy-books have been filled with 

 letters relating exclusively to Museum matters. 



This office is also charged with the compilation of data for the annual 

 report, with the j)reparation of a bibliography of the Museum publications 

 and of papers published by Museum officers and other collaborators, and 

 also with the preparation of the list of accessions to the Museum, accom- 

 panied by indexes showing (1) the Museum department to which re- 

 ferred, and (2) the geographical source of the accession. 



PREPARATION OF LABELS. 



During the year 2,159 forms of labels have been printed, as is shown 

 in the following statement: 



Department of Birds 1, 100 



Section of Coins and Medals 431 



,Department of Metallurgy ^... 273 



Section of Materia Medica 164 



Department of Ethnology 191 



Total 2,159 



More than two thousand additional labels were sent to the Govern- 

 ment Printing Office during the year. These, however, had not been 

 received at the close of the fiscal year. 



Since the instructive value of objects exhibited depends in great part 

 on good descriptive labels, it is hoped that hereafter "reater facilities 

 may be afforded for the rapid printing of the same. 



