54 Report of the President 



been subjected. This work is rendered difficult by the fact 

 that the pipes and leaders are built into the floor and walls 

 and are difficult of access. 



The Registrar has continued the work of recording and 



cataloguing the accessions of past years, received before the 



department was established, and the lists of 



Accessions donors and objects from 1869 to date are now 



Shipment. complete. 



There have been during this year, 3,012 incom- 

 ing shipments, including 6,693 packages, and 600 outgoing 

 shipments comprising 1,282 packages. 



The need of space is repeated for the benefit of those who 

 do not visit the Museum. Those who do, know how aisles 

 are growing narrower and narrower, unrelated 

 Needs of exhibits elbowing one another for room, and in 



Museum some instances specimens swaddled like mum- 



mies in protecting cloths decorate (?) the tops 

 of cases. A striking example of this is to be seen in the Hall 

 of Dinosaurs where creatures separated by six millions of 

 years in time are separated by scant six feet of space. The 

 problem is the reverse of that of the Iron Shroud — the walls 

 are not contracting but the collections are continually expand- 

 ing. The results are the same — deadly constriction. 



A crying need of the Museum is a complete set of window 

 shades. Many of those in use are in tatters and all are in a 

 dilapidated condition. To say that there are 783 windows 

 which call for 1,635 shades will give an idea of the extent of 

 our needs. The amount required to replace these is from 

 $7,500 to $9,000. 



As a matter of duty, attention is again called to the desir- 

 ability of a high fence around the Museum, beginning on the 

 north in a line with 79th Street, to protect the grounds so that 

 they may form a proper setting for the Museum. 



Playgrounds are necessary for children — but playgrounds 

 and parks cannot exist together, and the grounds in front of 

 the Museum should form a beautiful setting for the building 

 instead of presenting a mass of barren spots and broken shrubs. 



