AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



37 



assistant in the same division in 1914. In 1915 Herbert Lang and James 

 P. Chapin, on their return from the American Museum Congo Expedition, 

 were made, respectively, assistants in mammalogy and ornithology. 



Thus the curator was gradually relieved of much routine work and able 

 to devote his time mainly to research and to the editorial supervision of the 

 Museum 'Bulletin' and the zoological portion of the 'Memoirs/ 



While these pages are not intended to comprise a detailed history of the 

 department, it seems desirable to mention here some of the larger incre- 

 ments of the collection, on account of their bearing upon my later scientific 

 work. One of the primary duties of a curator and his scientific staff is the 

 identification of accessions and the prompt publication of the results of 

 their elaboration, in the interest not only of science but of the institution 

 with which they are connected. This obligation gives direction to their 

 scientific activities, forcing them from general to more special lines. In this 

 way their researches are in a measure restricted within certain boundaries. 



As already noted, iu 1885 there was not even the beginning of a research 

 collection in mammalogy; in 1915 the unmounted mammals exceeded 

 40,000 specimens, and included a fair amount of osteological material arid 

 spirit specimens in addition to skins and skulls; while the old mounted 

 specimens had been supplemented, and to a large extent superseded, by 

 elaborate group exhibits, illustrating the life histories of many prominent 

 types of North American and exotic mammals. During recent years this 

 work and the installation of a synoptic mammal collection has been under 

 the direct supervision of Director Lucas and Assistant Curator Andrews. 



The bird collection in 1885 included a small number of skins, mostly 

 North American, in addition to the 10,000 mounted specimens on exhibition; 

 in 1915 it comprised not only the most extensive and elaborate series of 

 'Habitat Groups' in any museum in the world, but more than 130,000 

 study skins. Further available as research material was the collection of 

 Dr. Jonathan Dwight, of chiefly North American birds, numbering 45,000 

 specimens; Dr. L. C. Sanford's collection of North American water birds, 

 numbering about 8000 specimens; and the Brewster-Sanford collection 

 of about 6000 specimens, mostly seabirds in large series from the South 

 Atlantic and South Pacific oceans and the southern coasts of South America. 

 Thus the American Museum in 1915 contained a total of about 190,000 

 birds available for scientific research, exclusive of mounted birds and groups. 

 Collectively they doubtless formed the largest and by far the most valuable 

 collection of American birds yet assembled in any single museum. 



The first notable accessions of birds were received, as already related, 

 in 1887, and comprised two important authoritative and historic collections, 

 the Lawrence collection of American birds (largely from tropical America 



