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Field  Columbian  Museum — Reports,  Vol.  i. 
tist  and  hunter.  Attention  to  the  work  of  Mr.  Akeley,  the  chief  Taxid- 
ermist, who,  under  the  direction  of  the  Curator  of  the  department, 
has  executed  these  three  groups,  cannot  be  directed  too  flatteringly. 
In  the  Department  of  Ornithology  seven  handsome  groups  have 
been  added  during  the  year,  reflecting  a  class  of  work  of  which  the 
Museum  may  take  gratulation  and  exhibiting  the  theory  of  popular 
education,  under  the  rule  of  scientific  accuracy  and  artistic  treatment. 
The  groups  may  be  briefly  referred  to  as  the  Herons,  the  Robins, 
the  Quails,  the  Hen  and  Ducklings,  the  Prairie  Chickens,  the  Fox  and 
Owl,  and  the  Ducks  and  Cat.  These  are  installed  in  halls  26  and  27, 
provision  therefor  being  made  by  removing  the  collections  in  Oology 
into  the  alcove  of  hall  27.  The  taxidermy  of  the  group  referred  to  is 
exceptionally  well  done  ;  the  accessories  of  Mr.  Mintorn  and  Mrs. 
Mogridge  are  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  these  well-known  artists, 
while  the  argument  or  story  of  each  group  as  prepared  by  the  Curator 
of  the  department  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  an  unusual  degree. 
The  taxidermists  having  been  removed  to  the  annex  east  of  the 
main  building,  the  rooms  formerly  occupied  by  them  at  Jefferson 
avenue,  are  occupied  by  the  Osteologists  for  macerating,  cleaning, 
articulating  and  mounting.  A  number  of  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  taxidermist  annex,  including  a  cement  floor  in  the 
cleaning  room,  the  erection  of  partitions,  etc.  The  carpentershop, 
which  was  located  at  the  east  of  the  building,  has  been  turned  over  to 
the  Department  of  Ornithology  for  a  work  room,  and  a  carpenter- 
shop  constructed  in  an  unoccupied  part  of  the  boiler  house.  The 
paintshop,  which  was  also  crowded  out  of  its  quarters  by  the  require- 
ments of  departmental  work,  has  been  removed  to  the  building  on  the 
corner  of  Fifty-sixth  street  and  Jefferson  avenue,  where,  though 
rather  remote  from  the  Museum,  the  painters  have  ample  accommo- 
dations. The  operation  of  the  electric  light  and  heating  plants  has 
been  very  economical.  With  the  exception  of  the  ordinary  repairs 
and  changes,  very  little  labor  or  material  has  been  required,  excepting 
the  renewal  of  the  spools  in  the  armature.  Repairs  on  the  building 
have  been  very  largely  of  a  nature  that  could  be  made  from  day  to 
day,  with  the  force  at  the  command  of  the  superintendent  of  the  build- 
ing. Considerable  staff  has  been  replaced  with  sheet  iron,  the  cornice 
having  given  the  greatest  amount  of  trouble.  It  is  now,  however,  in 
good  condition  for  the  winter.  The  damage  done  to  the  main  dome 
during  the  wind  storms  at  different  times  during  the  year  induced  the 
substitution  of  thin  iron  sheets  for  the  glass,  the  dome  being  so  far 
above  the  floor  of  the  building  that  this  made  no  appreciable  differ- 
