156 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The Philadelphia museums, Philadelphia. William P. Wilson 

 direotor; Gustave Niederlein, chief of the soientlflc department; 

 Frederic Lewton, curator of natural products; Ernst Fahrig, chief 

 of laboratories; George E. Lindin, S. Frank Aaron, Alexander 

 MacElwee, Charles R. Toothaker, assistants. 



The collections are almost exclusively economic, and are in- 

 tended to represent in the best manner possible the commercial 

 products and commerce of all countries of the world. They are 

 at present classified under five principal heads: 1) materials of 

 plant origin — including woods, fibers, tans, dyes, gums, resins, 

 oil seeds, oils, coffees, drugs, tobaccos, grains, fruits, foods, 

 herbariums, etc.; 2) materials of animal origin — wools, hairs, 

 furs, skins, pelts, hides, food fishes, shellfish, silks, waxes, 

 honeys, cochineal, sponges, pearl, etc.; 3) materials of inorganic 

 origin — ores and metallurgic preparations, coals, petroleums, 

 clays, coloring earths, salts, flints, sulfurs, building materials, 

 etc.; 4) materials showing the habits and customs of nations — 

 garments, ornaments, models of boats, carts, barrows, cars 

 and other vehicles, utensils of domestic use, agricultural imple- 

 ments, weights, measures, legal forms and commercial headings, 

 current money, games, weapons, musical instruments, etc.; 

 5) manufactured goods including articles imported by vari- 

 ous countries except from the United States, articles made 

 in various countries for home consumption, articles made in 

 various countries for export. 



The collections are rich in all departments and all told include 

 about 250,000 specimens (estimated carefully). Particular men- 

 tion should be made of the collections of foreign cabinet woods, 

 fibers, gums and resins, grains, drugs, coffees, raw silks, raw 

 wools and manufactured textiles, all of which are probably 

 unsurpassed. A herbarium has recently been established which 

 contains 7000 specimens and is growing rapidly. Mention 

 should be made of a type collection of reptiles from Colombia, 

 which includes some 13 new species described by the late Prof. 

 Cope in a paper not yet published. 



An extremely important department is the Commercial 

 museum's bureau of informiation. Its primary object is to pro- 

 mote international trade, particularly the foreign commerce of 

 the United States. To this end, it gives information of the 



