194 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



Galls and gall insects. — As pertaining rather more to this portion of 

 the collection it is well to mention here a collection of specimens and 

 drawings of European galls and gall insects prepared by the late 

 Andrew W. Murray and received by the Museum from the Centennial 

 Exposition at Philadelphia, containing specimens or drawings of 212 

 species, with admirable enlarged diagrams of structure and economy. 



Silk culture. — The exhibit consists of two or really three parts : 



(1) Thirty Japanese pictures, framed on a wall screen showing 

 methods or silk culture in Japan, and 17 specimens of the stands, trays, 

 and boxes illustrated. 



(2) Two unit boxes containing 7 species and J 5 specimens of native and 

 foreign silk worms, and 215 specimens or samples of silk, from the divis- 

 ion of silk culture, Bureau of Entomology, Department of Agriculture. 



(3) Six unit boxes received from Mr. K. Hitchcock, containing 48 

 sorts or varieties of cocoons, and silk in various forms, and about 300 

 specimens all told. 



Insect architecture. — Two wall screen cases contain 30 specimens of 

 insect architecture, mostly the work of Hymcnoptera. This collection 

 is still very incomplete, and it is intended at some future date to enlarge 

 this portion of the exhibit so as to give a fair idea of the variety and 

 skill of insects in all branches of building. 



Synoptic collection. — This collection is intended to give to the student 

 and general visitor an outline of the classification of insects. Starting 

 with a definition of the class, and a brief description of each order, the 

 peculiar features only being given, and drawings or specimens illus- 

 trating each definition. 



This box contains 62 species and 78 specimens besides the drawings. 



Two boxes are devoted to Lepidoptera 3 and contain definitions of all 

 the families, drawings of venation, and other structural details. They 

 contain C2 species and 121 specimens. 



One box is devoted to Hemiptera, and this is still incomplete in the 

 section Homoptera. The section Heteroptera contains 26 species and 

 130 specimens. It is designed to continue work on this collection and 

 to cover all orders in the same way ; but the work is an extremely slow 

 one, requiring much time and labor in the preparation of drawings, the 

 selection of material, and its proper arrangement. 



Show collection. — This contains twenty unit boxes of insects ; foreign 

 Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, selected to please that portion of the visi- 

 tors to the Museum that care only to feast the eye. It contains showy 

 butterflies, immense moths, and beetles of bizarre shape and coloring ; 

 it is separated as follows : 



