REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 11 



eral of the Navy, under whose supervision the collection has been in- 

 stalled. Its increase during the year has been greater than during any 

 previous year except the first, when the nucleus of the collection was 

 formed from the collections received from different national departments 

 at the Centennial Exhibition, and by the gifts of W. H. Schiefflin & Co., 

 of New York, which were remarkable for their interest and value. 



Among the most important accessions received during the year, were 

 those presented by the Governments of Jamaica, Japan, and Mexico; 

 the collection of Dr. Edward Palmer, from the States and Territories of 

 the Southwest; and the gifts of F. Stearns & Co., of Detroit, Mich., 

 and W. S. Thompson, of Washington, D. C. The curator has devoted 

 much time to completing his arrangement of the collection, and has car- 

 ried on several important investigations on the physiological action of 

 drugs. Seven original papers embodying the results of his investi- 

 gations have been published and are given in the bibliography, and two 

 more are in press ; others are in progress. The exhibition series now 

 contains 3,326 specimens, and nearly half of these are provided with 

 printed labels. The whole collection now includes 4,850 specimens, and 

 409 entries have been added to the catalogue during the year. A de- 

 scriptive catalogue is now in preparation. 



There has been a constant improvement in the condition of the fish- 

 eries collection, which, since its inauguration in the east north range in 

 1884, has been under the curatorship of Mr. R. E. Earll. The nucleus for 

 this collection was obtained from the Philadelphia Exhibition in 187G. 

 The fisheries of North America are now so thoroughly represented that 

 there can be but little necessity for extending this portion of the de- 

 partment, except by keeping it abreast of the time, by exhibiting mod- 

 ern improvements in apparatus, and the building up of certain special 

 subjects rather of local importance, such as the Chinese fisheries of 

 the Pacific coast. Important contributions have been received from 

 the Government of Siani through Minister Haldeman, from the Gov- 

 ernment of Japan, and the collections from Great Britain, Sweden, 

 Spain, France, Holland, and Greece, acquired at the close of the Lon- 

 don Exhibition, in 1883, have been incorporated in the exhibition series. 

 The necessity of more exhibition space is very apparent. The fish- 

 cultural objects are almost entirely crowded out, and many of the objects 

 are now hung against the wall at such a height as to render them, 

 and the labels attached to them, at least partially invisible. 



The collection of animal products is also under Mr. EarlPs charge. 

 The nucleus of this collection was obtained at the Philadelphia Exhibi- 

 tion in 1876, and was greatly extended by the addition of material pre- 

 sented from the New Orleans Exposition. There are now on exhibition 

 nearly 1,600 specimens, illustrating the applications of the products of 

 the animal kiugdom in the arts and industries. 



In the north hall of the Museum are displayed several hundred ob- 

 jects relating to the history of soldiers and statesmen, and a large num- 



