REPORT OF ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. 35 



The installation of the collection of costumes has been commenced. 

 It is intended to exhibit with each costume a photograph. In some 

 cases persons wearing a given costume have already been photographed, 

 and these photographs, colored by Mr. Shindler, will be displayed in 

 connection with the costumes. By this means the visitors can not only 

 see the costume, but learn its manner of habiliment. For the preserva- 

 tion of certain costumes whose fibers or colors are too delicate to be 

 poisoned in the usual way, Mr. Hawley has adopted the method of 

 sealing the boxes with strips of cloth smeared with poisoned glue. The 

 installation of the Chelsea Art Castings, contributed by the Magee Fur- 

 nace Company, a collection of Indian blankets, and a series of models 

 of ZuSi idols, symbols, &c, has also been commenced. Labels are in 

 course of preparation for the collection of Hindoo religious and house- 

 hold utensils, and for the small statuettes illustrating the castes aud 

 costumes of those people. 



• In order to place on permanent record the work accomplished in this 

 department of the Museum service, the management issued a circular 

 on June 1 to all preparators, requiring that after that date reports 

 should be made as to the amount and character of work received, com- 

 menced, and finished during each week. 



14. SKETCH OF THE EXHIBIT MADE BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITU- 

 TION AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 



On pages 51 and 52 of the Report for 1884 reference is made to the 

 participation of the Smithsonian Institution, including the National 

 Museum, in the New Orleans Exposition, with a brief statement of 

 the exhibit made by the Museum. The weight of the collections sent 

 from the Institution was 176,000 pounds. A portion of this material 

 had already been exhibited at the Louisville and Cincinnati exhibitions 

 and was forwarded from those places to New Orleans. In the middle 

 of November, 1884, was commenced the shipment of material from 

 Washington, and the entire collection, consisting of seventeen car-loads, 

 was forwarded within a few weeks. The extent of the space allotted 

 to this exhibit in the building provided for the display of Government 

 and State exhibits, was 81J feet wide and 300 feet long, including 24,750 

 square feet. 



On December 6, Mr. G. Brown Goode and Mr. E. E. Earll started for 

 New Orleans to begin the work of installing the collections, and at va- 

 rious times during the progress of the Exposition many of the curators 

 whose departments were represented, attended the Exposition in the in- 

 terests of their exhibits. A brief sketch of these collections is now given, 

 the exhibits being referred to in order, according to the amount of floor- 

 space occupied. 



The Animal Products exhibit occupied the largest amount of space 

 (2,400 square feet). Specimens of fur from nearly every fur-bearing 

 animal in the United States were shown, and in general the methods of 



