Jan., 1 92 1. Annual Report of the Director. 



399 



without serious damage. The smaller exhibition cases were transported 

 intact with specimens of light weight in situ securely fastened to the 

 shelves or to the floor. Even the extensive osteological exhibits traveled 

 largely in this way, although small skeletons and crania were specially 

 packed in cartons and very large ones were crated. Heavy material, as 

 corals and other fragile invertebrates, was removed from the cases and 

 packed in boxes, cartons, and barrels. Exhibition cases of medium size 

 (more than 4 feet in width) were transported after removal of all or 

 part of the glass and with the specimens covered with a temporary 

 protecting cloth. In this way certain habitat groups, as the hyaenas 

 and warthogs, were handled simply and successfully. Very large cases, 

 including many of the habitat groups, as moose, mountain sheep, koodoo, 

 zebra, etc., required the complete dismantling of the case and the dis- 

 memberment of the group, the animals being placed individually on 

 special temporary bases and the ground work and accessories being 

 divided and crated. The African elephants, after removing the head of 

 the one mounted with its trunk elevated, were placed on an open flat- 

 car and came through without mishap. The study collections of mam- 

 mals and birds packed in original containers offered no difficulty. 

 Fishes and reptiles in glass jars, which were wrapped in corrugated 

 cardboard and packed tightly in cartons, suffered no breakage what- 

 ever. Even pinned insects, which were subjected to much vibration, show 

 no injury so far as examined. Since removal to the new building steady 

 progress has been made in the re-installation of the exhibition material. 

 The first hall to be finished was the west colonnade (George M. Pullman 

 Hall) which has been devoted to ungulate mammals, the deer, antelope, 

 sheep, goats, and wild oxen. These are mostly game animals of con- 

 siderable popular interest and have been arranged to form a imit with 

 allowance for slight expansion in the futiure. The hall of systematic 

 mammals followed and then that of systematic birds and the habitat 

 groups of birds. A number of groups of African mammals also were 

 completely installed before the end of the year. Over two months were 

 devoted to the re-installation of the shell exhibit. Besides re-installing 

 the shells which were on exhibition in the old building, good progress 

 has also been made on the installation of the four new A-cases that had 

 not been in use heretofore. In order that there should be uniformity in 

 color of all the shell tablets and labels, it was decided to blacken the 

 edges of the yellow shell tablets and to reprint all of the bufl-colored 

 labels in the six so-called table cases. Some progress has also been made 

 in the installation of the sponge and coral exhibit. There have now been 

 re-installed and completed twelve A-cases of shells and two standard 

 cases of sponges and corals. Several other cases also are far advanced 



