NATURAL HISTORY BUILDING 115 



eral satisfaction, although some parts of the enclosure, and especially 

 of the smaller rooms, are not as well illuminated as they should be. 

 During bright weather, however, it is necessary to make use of a 

 series of muslin curtains which are arranged between the skylight and 

 the ceiling light. For night lighting there is a very complete sys- 

 tem of Frink reflectors carrying electric lamps, as described in con- 

 nection with the electrical equipment of the building. 



Ranges. — The two ranges are alike in all particulars and present 

 a continuous floor space adapted to exhibition purposes, which is 

 unobstructed except by the enclosures for the freight elevators and 

 service stairs and by the single row of pilastered piers, 2 feet 2 inches 

 square. The latter are centered at a distance of about 17 feet 5 inches 

 from the court walls, thus permitting, in the installation of cases, of 

 the formation of aisles through the middle of each range. The width 

 of the ranges in the clear is 54 feet 2 inches, while the extreme length 

 of each is 316 feet 10 inches. Communication with the east and west 

 wings is by means of two large openings, and with the middle wing 

 by three such openings. 



Divisimi of space^ arrangeTnent of installations. — The first floor, 

 exclusive of the south pavilion, furnishes 106,266 square feet of exhi- 

 bition space which is shared almost equally by the three departments 

 of anthropology, biology and geology. The north wing, with the 

 exception of the space assigned to the picture gallery, and the north- 

 ern section of both ranges are occupied by the division of ethnology. 

 The west wing and adjoining section of the west range are allotted 

 to the mammals and birds ; while the east wing is devoted to paleon- 

 tology, and the adjoining section of the east range to physical and 

 chemical geology. 



While no fixed rules have or could be followed in the installation 

 of the exhibition halls, since the arrangement of the cases has de- 

 pended largely on their shapes and sizes as governed by the nature 

 of their contents, the general layout in the window-lighted spaces 

 has been in a manner to form bays, each disposed about a single 

 window. There are, however, many departures from this plan. 

 Long upright cases, facing the windows, have been built against some 

 of the screen and light well walls, while in the skylighted areas, in 

 which objects of large size predominate, the distribution of the 

 exhibits conforms in the main to individual requirements in the 

 matter of space and position. 



SECOND STORY ( 



In the second story the ranges present the same arrangements and 

 furnish the same amount of floor space as in the first story. In the 

 wings, however, while the general dimensions correspond with those 

 in the first story, the amount of floor space is greatly reduced by the 



