REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF MAMMALS IN THE U. S. NATIONAL 



MUSEUM, 1887. 



By Frederick YV. True, Curator. 



The most important work of the year has been the commencement of 

 a re-arrangement of the exhibition hall. Of the movable cases which 

 were in the hall at the close of the last year but one remains, and the 

 wall cases have been remodeled and added to. 



The new floor cases depart from the standard originally adopted for 

 other departments of the Museum. Their size and proportions were de- 

 termined upon after a careful study of the material to be exhibited, and 

 the collection is, therefore, seeu to a much greater advantage than for- 

 merly. The new wings added to the wall cases are designed for the re- 

 ception of the longest specimens in the collection (the ruminants, seals, 

 etc.), which have not hitherto been under cover, and have been subject 

 to injury at the hands of visitors. 



As a result of the expedition into Montana, under the charge of Mr. 

 W. T. Hornaday, sent out by the Institution, the Museum has come 

 into the possession of a very fine series of specimens of the Bison — a 

 matter of great importance in view of the approaching extinction of 

 that species. 



The reference series has been enriched by purchases and donations of 

 well-preserved skins of certain North American species of Mammals in 

 which the collection was previously deficient. 



In a region like North America, where, in many cases, the range of 

 a species extends over thousands of square miles, and the species itself 

 is differentiated into numerous geographical races, a large series of 

 specimens will alone suffice to enable the student of zoogeography, or 

 the systematist, to work out the problems with which he has to deal; 

 and since the characters, which are chiefly relied upon for distinguish- 

 ing subspecies, are external, it is necessary that the skins should be 

 prepared in the very best manner. It is in this direction that the 

 growth of the reference series of the National collection ought to tend, 

 The work of the past year is but a beginning. 



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