REPORT ON THE DIVISIONS OF TEXTILES AND MEDICINE AND THE 

 SECTIONS OF WOOD TECHNOLOGY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, AND 

 FOOD 



By F. L. Lewton, Curator of Textiles 



COMPARISON OF "INCREMENT OF SPECIMENS OF 1923-24 WITH THAT OF 1922-23 



The accessions received during the year number 81 (including 

 three joint accessions with other departments), and in addition parts 

 of six accessions covering 291 specimens which were received and 

 recorded elsewhere in the Museum prior to the beginning of the 

 current fiscal year. 



The entries covered by the above accessions number 3,364, 1,223 

 more than were received in the fiscal year 1923, and they may be 

 divided into five groups as follows: Textiles, 438; medicine, 828; 

 wood technology, 580; organic chemistry, 1,513; and foods, 5; eacli 

 group with the exception of medicines and foods showing more 

 entries than last year. 



The additions to the collections assigned to these divisions and sec- 

 tions consist of specimens not heretofore represented in the Museum 

 and, taken as a whole, are believed to be more valuable than those 

 received last year. 



ACCESSIONS OF IMPORTANCE 



The most important additions to this department of the National 

 Collections made during the year were the result of cooperation with 

 several national trade associations. Manufacturers supporting these 

 associations are becoming more appreciative of the value of the 

 National Museum as a means of informing the American public of 

 the importance and scope of great American industries, and as a 

 result several large series of industrial specimens were collected and 

 contributed for exhibition. 



The first of these to be mentioned is that illustrating the origin, 

 manufacture, and applications of rubber, which was planned to 

 cover every phase of the rubber industry and was the gift of the 

 Rubber Association of America (Inc.). The exhibit material was 

 obtained from representative American firms, members of the 

 association, but in no case were these manufacturers mentioned on 

 the labels, the credit for the exhibit being given to the rubber 

 association for the benefit of the whole industry. Some 307 speci- 

 mens, models, and photographs for this exhibit were received before 



97 



