REPORT UPOH Till: CONDITION AND PROGRESS OF THE UNITKI) 

 STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM IN 1884. 



A.— GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



1. [NTRODUCTORt REMARKS, 



Daring the year the officers of the Museum have continued the work 

 of arranging the material under their charge in the exhibition halls, 



laboratories, and storerooms at their disposal. 



It should be remembered that the reorganization of the Museum was 

 begun late in L881, at the time when the new Museum buildingwas first 

 made ready for occupation, and that 1884 is but the third year of sys- 

 tematic effort. Much progress has been made in removing from the 

 exhibition halls the great mass of unclassified material which had been 

 gathering for many years in the various store-rooms of the Smithsonian 

 building and elsewhere, and which, on account of lack of space, had for 

 the most part been allowed to remain in the original packing cases. 



The floors of the Museum have at last been almost cleared, and at 

 present only three of the seventeen exhibition rooms arc occupied for 

 storage purposes, viz : The southwest court, which is still full of speci- 

 mens belonging to the departments of metallurgy, mineralogy, and 

 lithology ; and the southeast court, which is used as a general recepta- 

 cle for empty cases and unmounted material belonging to the depart- 

 ments of zoology and anthropology. Before the end of February this 

 work will be completed. 



The additions to the Museum have been far more numerous and val- 

 uable than in any previous year. The activity of every department 

 has been greater, both in respect to progress made in the administration 

 of the collections and in respect to the number of scientific papers pub- 

 lished by the officers in connection with their professional studies upon 

 the specimens under their charge. 



By direction of Congress the Smithsonian Institution, in connection 

 with the Executive Departments of the Government and the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, has participated during the year in the industrial 

 expositions at Cincinnati, Louisville, and New Orleans. 



Having been designated by yourself, and appointed by the President, 

 representative of the Smithsonian Institution (including the National 

 Museum and Pish Commission) on the Government Executive Board, 



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