REPORT OF ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. 49 



exposition, continuing for three months* The exposition <>f 1884 was 

 held under the same auspices and in the same building, opening August 

 16 and closing October 25. 



Immediately upon the passage of the bill by Congress correspondence 

 was opened with the management of 1 1 1 * - exposition and space obtained 

 in different portions of the building for the Beveral executive depart- 

 ments, l, 500 feet being assigned to the Smithsonian Institution, in one 

 of the most prominent portions of the building. The time being short, 

 the work of preparing the exhibit was vigorously prosecuted, and on 

 August 12 three carloads, containing 95 cases, with a weight of 

 23,553 pounds, were shipped. These arrived at Louisville on the morn- 

 ing of the Kith, and by the evening of the 19th were fully installed. 



The industrial interests <>f Kentucky were taken into consideration 

 in deciding upon the character of the exhibit, which ir was thought de- 

 sirable to make as instructive as possible. It was Largely an educa- 

 tional exhibit, showing the processes of manufacture of raw materials 

 which were abundant in the State, and a graphic representation of such 

 subjects as were supposed to be Least familiar to the people of Kentucky. 

 One of the prominent features of the exhibit was a large collection 

 showing the processes of manufacturing textiles from raw materials, 

 including flax, hemp, jute, grasses, and silk. A eolleetion illustrative 

 of articles derived from the animal kingdom was also shown. This in- 

 cluded a series of furs, another of crude and manufactured leathers, a 

 third of natural and ornamental shells and shell-works, another illus- 

 trating the uses of feathers in the arts, and a fifth showing the manu- 

 facture and uses of glues derived from the sounds, bones, and skins of 

 various species of fish. An extensive collection illustrative of the great 

 ocean fisheries of the New England coast was also shown. The whale 

 fishery was illustrated by means of a full-sized whale-boat, fully equipped 

 with sails, oars, harpoons, lines, and guns; a model of a whale-ship 

 with a whale alongside, showing the method of stripping the blubber, 

 and trying it out on the vessel's deck, and by paintings of whaling 

 scenes. The other lisheries, including those for cod, mackerel, men- 

 haden, and herring, and the apparatus and methods of lish-culture, were 

 fully shown by models of the most important vessels and boats, and a 

 series of photographs 30 by 40 inches, neatly framed, classified, and 

 mounted on screens. The natural history collections included a repre- 

 sentation of nearly all of the snakes and reptiles found in the United 

 States, and a tine series of many of the water-birds of the country. 



An attendant was Left in charge of the exhibits during the continu- 

 ance of the exposition, and at its close the exhibits were carefully 

 packed and a- majority of them forwarded directly to Xew Orleans, a 

 few being returned to Washington to be remounted, with larger and 

 more complete collections, before shipping to the New Orleans Exposi- 

 tion. 



S. Mis, 33, pt. 2 4 



