Oct., 1905. Annual Report of the Director. 



363 



warping, cracking open, or having the doors become too loose or too 

 tight is at once avoided, while the ability to poison or insectifuge the 

 contents without removal from the cases, gives a feeling of security 

 not possible in those of any other constructive material. The gain 

 in content space (due to less quantity of material utilized) proves to 

 be about 32 five-inch pigeon-holes over a like size block of wooden 

 cases. The Curator's design of these cases, based upon those already 

 installed in the only other herbarium having adopted the steel cases, 

 gives evidence of the following improvements: the shelf flanges 

 are turned up instead of down and flush riveted instead of bolted, 

 thus avoiding all chance of the genus covers becoming diflicult to 

 insert by engaging the flanges or the bolt heads; the allowance of a 

 2 -inch space between the faces of the shelves and the inside faces of 

 the doors, thus yielding free circulation and shelf-label space; the 

 use of straps of steel at the back of the pigeon-holes as stops for the 

 contents, and leaving a 2 -inch space between these stops and those 

 of the pigeon-holes of the case immediately in the rear, thus allowing 

 further circulation of air or poison fumes; and at the bottom of each 

 case, the installation of an enameled steel trough in which may be 

 placed carbon-disulphide or a generous quantity of naphthaline or 

 other insectifuge without interfering with the contents of the pigeon- 

 holes ; the affixion of a label-holder of generous size to the face of each 

 case in which an indication of the contents may be placed; and the 

 use of paper board slides and drops which automatically convert 

 each pigeon-hole into an easily operated drawer, thus doing away 

 entirely with the breakage of mounted plants through frequent grasp- 

 ing of the fascicles for removal. With these additional cases, em- 

 bracing 1,008 5-inch pigeon-holes, the capacity of the herbarium is 

 now 3,276 pigeon-holes, capable of containing in the neighborhood of 

 300,000 mounted sheets. In these the collections have been com- 

 pletely shifted and rearranged in a consecutive, systematic order, 

 and at the same time the pigeon-hole contents have been severally 

 " opened up " to allow of the introduction of inserrendae for a period 

 of at least three years of normal growth. The enormous increase of 

 the Northwest Coast ethnological collections made it imperative that 

 this material should be reclassified, rearranged and installed. This 

 has been undertaken, and three halls have been opened to the public^ 

 viz.: those containing the Tlingit and Haida collections. Two other 

 rooms are now being installed; one will contain the Kwakiutl and 

 the other the Salish collections. A regrouping and reinstallation of 

 the California material also became imperative. Fortunately the 



