38 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1885. 



Atwater, some progress has been made in the work of building up a 

 collection illustrating the physiological action of foods and the compo- 

 sition of the human body, similar to the famous collection in the Bethnal 

 Green Museum in London. 



Mr. Hitchcock, who is acting curator of this collection, has, however, 

 devoted most of his time to the development of the section of Tex- 

 tiles, which is directly under his charge. This section has been largely 

 increased by donations from abroad, but especially through collections 

 made by himself while preparing for the exposition at New Orleans. 

 The object of these collections is twofold : First, to place upon view 

 the various textile fibers available for use in this country and abroad, 

 with specimens of articles made therefrom, such as cloth, rope, twine, 

 mats, &c. ; second, to provide a series of specimens of every fiber that 

 can be used in the arts, to be used for scientific examination, tests 

 of tensile strength, and especially to serve as type specimens for the 

 identification of other fibers by microscopical examination. A num- 

 ber of collections which have been received are worthy of special men- 

 tion; amoug these a particularly fine set of fibers from Brazil, collected 

 by Dr. J. Charles Berrinni, of Quissanam, who has devoted unusual 

 care and labor to the work. All the textile fibers in the museum of the 

 Department of Agriculture were placed in Mr. Hitchcock's charge dur- 

 ing January, and from this collection some valuable specimens have 

 been selected and placed on exhibition. Mr. George W. Bond, of Bos- 

 ton, has selected a large collection of native and foreign wools, from 

 samples belonging to the United States customs department, which 

 have been prepared for exhibition ; they are not yet, however, on ex- 

 hibition, as the cases for their display are not yet made. This collec- 

 tion is probably already the best thing of the kind to be found in any 

 museum, and when all the wools belonging to the Museum collections 

 are mounted, the display of this textile will be, if not quite complete, 

 at least very large and valuable. 



Owing to the restricted floor-space in the Museum which has been 

 assigned to this department, it has been impossible to make the display 

 of specimens as instructive and attractive as it might be. By far the 

 greater part of the collection, and some of the most interesting speci- 

 mens, have been sent to the exposition at New Orleans, where this de- 

 partment was well represented. A detailed account, however, of the 

 display there made would not be of interest in this report, and the sub- 

 ject may be passed over with the statement that there were sent to 

 New Orleans 290 unit boxes to represent the Textile Department of 

 the Museum. The display is said to have been very attractive. 



Mr. Hitchcock has also been requested to take charge of the physical 

 apparatus belonging to the Smithsonian Institution which has been 

 transferred to the National Museum and placed in cases. The arrange- 

 ment has been necessarily very unsystematic, owing to the limited space 

 at his disposal, but in a general way it is classified under three heads. 



