Needs of the Museum 53 



effort and use of modern lamps and fixtures as fast as 

 funds permitted, is better than ever. The demands for 

 light have been unusually great the past year, and the total 

 current supplied was 397,586 K.W., 77,000 more than in 

 1918, and this has been produced at the low figure of 2.55 

 cents per K.W. hour. 



The needs of the Museum are in character much as they 

 have been for the past few years, but intensified. The need 

 of space in particular is greater than ever and 

 of the is felt in every department : this want could be 



Museum met more promptly and at the least cost by the 



erection of the Southeast Court Building. This would fur- 

 nish relief for some time in providing storage, work room 

 and exhibition room while another section was being con- 

 structed, and the gallery would also provide much needed 

 space for temporary exhibitions. 



A considerable amount of material is already available 

 for exhibition including groups of Walrus, Sea Elephants, 

 Seals and Penguins, while the withdrawal of these from 

 their present locations would permit much needed read- 

 justments. This is particularly true in the Hall of North 

 American Mammals. A few years ago this was North 

 American in name only and contained many African mam- 

 mals, but since that time these have been removed, five 

 groups of large mammals have been added, five of small 

 mammals and a number of single specimens, and three 

 groups are now in hand. The addition of these will create 

 still further congestion, but if the groups of boreal and 

 oceanic mammals could be removed, there would be ample 

 room for the mammals of North America. 



A crying need, noted in the Report for 1918, is for a 

 panel board to care for electric wires for lighting cases and 

 groups, so that there may be a definite segregation between 

 these and those for general lighting purposes. When the 

 building was planned, such demands for lights were un- 

 known and naturally not provided for, but as group after 



