Jan., 191 1. Annual Report of the Director. 



35 



and the richly tinted foHage combines well with the black and bronze 

 of the birds. (4) The Water Birds of Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, includ- 

 ing 37 birds of various species, as the Canada Goose, Pintail Duck, 

 Blue-winged Teal, Scaup Duck, Widgeon, Gulls, Terns, and Shore 

 birds. About 100 birds for the serial North American and Illinois 

 collections have been mounted and placed on exhibition. Room 22, 

 which contains the exhibition collection of fishes has been improved 

 by several changes and additions of new groups. Four cases not well 

 suited for the exhibition of fishes have been transferred to the Hall 

 devoted to Osteology. Two new cases have been added, containing 

 15 groups of mounted fishes. Screens have been made for two other 

 cases and these are ready to be put in place and installed as soon as 

 the material now in course of preparation is finished. During the first 

 half of the year attention was devoted to experimenting to devise the 

 best method for preparing groups of fishes for exhibition, with most 

 satisfactory results. Unfortunately work on several groups of fishes 

 was temporarily discontinued last July, due to the illness of the fish 

 taxidermist, Mr. Heim, who was obliged to seek a different climate, 

 but who is now doing work for the Museum in Arizona and it is hoped 

 he will be able to return to Chicago in the near future. Of the several 

 groups placed on exhibition the largest and in many ways the most 

 exceptional is that of the Tiger Shark with her brood of 44 young. 

 This animal is viviparous and the adult was captured at a time when 

 the young were about to be born. The group is probably unique. Dur- 

 ing the past year the inventory of the great Strecker collection was com- 

 pleted and considerable time was devoted to work on local insects, 

 such as pinning, labeling, and distributing specimens already in the 

 collection and others secured from time to time by the Assistant Curator 

 and his assistant. 2,800 insects have been pinned and labeled. A large 

 number have been determined and placed in the study collection. 

 During the year the work in the Division of Osteology was continued 

 as usual with satisfactory results. Through the courtesy of Mr. William 

 Warwick, Superintendent of the Standard Oil Company plant at Whit-' 

 ing, Indiana, the facilities for work there were continued, and 38 skel- 

 etons and skulls were degreased during the summer. The Assistant 

 Curator made some experiments in working out a satisfactory method 

 of exhibiting specimens without shelves, and a paper was written and 

 read before the meeting of the American Association of Museums at 

 Buffalo, New York, May 31, 19 10, on this subject. Mr. Gueret also 

 completed the labeling of specimens and card index of Osteological 

 material to date. 



