126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE PALEONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Upon motion by Professor Weller, it was voted that the B)^-Laws be 

 suspended and that the Secretary cast the vote of the Society for the 

 election to membership of these five new nominees. 



ELECTION" OF CORRESPONDENT 



President Loomis then reported tliat tlie Council favored the election as 

 Correspondent of Monsieur Ferdinand Canu, 18 Eue du Peintre Lebrmi, 

 Versailles, France, in view of his researches on paleogeography and his 

 various monographs and essays on the fossil bryozoa of both Europe and 

 America, his Avork on the latter culminating in the two quarto volumes 

 forming Bulletin 106, U. S. National Museum, entitled "North Amer- 

 ican Early Tertiary Bryozoa." Monsieur Canu's election followed by 

 unanimous vote. 



With the completion of the business meeting, the Society proceeded, 

 in general session, with President Loomis in the chair, to the reading of 

 papers. 



PRESENTATION OF PAPERS 



The first paper of the session, presented by the author and illustrated 

 by lantern slides, gave the results of ten years of exhibition work in 

 paleontology at the New National ]\Iuseum ; discussion by Messrs. Moore 

 and Wellcr. 



PALEOXTOLOGICAL EXHIBITS AT THE U. S. XATIOXAL MUSEUM 

 BY R. S. BASSLER 



{Abstract) 



As this meeting marks tlie end of the first decade of exhibition in tlie New 

 National Museum, a report of progress seemed appropriate. The general diffi- 

 culty of preparing interesting exliibits of fossil remains is increased in the 

 National Museum by the fact that the interest must be national and not local. 

 The methods of obtaining tliis result will be explained by lantern slides illus- 

 trating the three main halls of paleontology and by samples of the descriptive 

 labels employed. Each hall is devoted to a special branch of paleontology, 

 namely, the vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant divisions, and the exhibits in 

 each are arranged for study by the biologist, geologist, and the general public. 

 For the first, there is a biological series, in wliich tlie evolution of tlie various 

 classes of organisms is the essential theme ; for the geologist, the chaj*acter- 

 istic fossils and rocks of each formation are arranged chronologically and ac- 

 companied by a long structure section across the continent ; for tlie general 

 public, large exhibits illustrating subjects which include matters of geological 

 history, in addition to the display of fossils and their occurrence in the rocks, 

 are displayed, usually on bases open to inspection by the visitor. In this 

 latter series a fossil coral reef, a large block showing an unconformity, sea 

 beaches of various geological periods, and similar subjects are included. 



