42 Report of the President 



Migratory Butterfly, so that a fair balance has been preserved 

 in the various Zoological departments of the Museum. Im- 

 portant individual pieces are an Okapi, the great 

 ExhVt Magnolia, and an extensive series of teeth with 



special reference to the teeth of Mammals. 



The rearrangement of the Primates Hall is practically com- 

 plete, though many minor improvements remain to be effected, 

 and important additions are in course of preparation, including 

 a group of Howling Monkeys and one of African Pygmies. 

 This last, representing a low type of man, is a balance for the 

 Orang Group, which presents a "high" type of ape. 



Owing to the high cost of structural iron, the city deemed 

 it inadvisable to close the well in the third floor, which would 

 have permitted the construction of a darkened corridor for 

 groups, and these are now being installed in a special enclosure 

 on the north side of the hall. 



Good progress has been made in the Hall of North American 

 Mammals, which is now in fair shape as to arrangement and 

 labeling. An attempt to furnish the visitor with information 

 as to the kinds and numbers of mammals found in North 

 America has been made by providing a series of large Family 

 labels on which the range of the family is shown and the num- 

 ber of species and subspecies given. Whether or not these 

 matters are really of interest to visitors remains to be seen. 



The completion of a habitat group of Timber Wolves, begun 

 in the early summer, was prevented by Mr. Nichols being 

 called for camouflage work, and later by extremely difficult 

 problems in connection with the proper lighting of the group. 

 The installation in the North American Hall is a case of put- 

 ting new wine into old bottles ; of putting habitat groups into 

 a hall planned for daylight exhibits, of placing them in a Pro- 

 crustean bed of limited length, breadth and depth, and of utiliz- 

 ing what was available rather than doing what one would like. 



A full-sized reproduction of the Killer Whale has been pre- 

 pared by Mr. Block from data provided by Mr. Andrews, and 

 this is ready for hanging near the reproduction of the Sulphur- 

 bottom Whale. 



Improvements in the exhibition collection of Mammals are 

 becoming more and more difficult, owing to the great conges- 



