1913.] 
NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 
709 
Report of the Ornithological Section. 
More progress has been made in the arrangement of the study 
series of birds during the year just closed than has been possible for 
many years past. 
Mr. D. E. Culver, who has occupied a Jessup studentship during 
the year, has devoted nearly all of his time to the relaxing and 
Tenovation of the old unmounted specimens. Many hundreds of 
these birds have thus been converted into excellent skin specimens, 
while the cases have been thoroughly cleansed as the work continued. 
All of the lower groups of birds, comprising those of large size, 
have been worked over in this way, as well as the whole series of 
Picarise, most of the Clamatores, and one or two families of the 
Oscines, so that the work will be easily completed early in the coming 
year. 
The Conservator took up each family of the water birds as the 
relaxing was completed and arranged them systematically, reidentify¬ 
ing many specimens and checking them up in Sharpe’s Hand List. 
He also interpolated in the collection some 5,000 specimens that have 
been acquired during past years but not systematically arranged 
for lack of cases, a need that was met this year by the addition of ten 
double-sized metal storage cases. 
Iron-pipe racks were also erected for holding the cases in place of 
the temporary wooden racks previously in use, while the fronts of 
all the cases have been painted cream color, which gives them a much 
neater appearance and adds materially to the light in the alcoves. 
The floor of the room has also been painted with cemitite, which has 
hardened the concrete and stopped the constant wearing away of 
the surface in the form of fine dust. 
The removal of certain old wooden cases will permit the arrange¬ 
ment of the local collection to much better advantage. 
A number of additions have been made during the year to the local 
exhibition collection, and others are in the course of preparation. 
No rearrangement or further reduction of the general exhibition 
collection has been possible, but with the acquisition of additional 
storage cases it is hoped in the coming year to unmount a number of 
duplicates and arrange the remaining specimens to much better 
advantage. 
There have been a number of very important accessions to the 
study collection during the year, notable among which were two 
hundred and thirty-seven West African birds, obtained from George 
