No. 1.—PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING, 
MAY 4, 1904. 
REPORT OF THE CURATOR, CHARLES W. JOHNSON. 
During the past year while working on the various collections 
in the Museum, one thought has been uppermost, and that is, how to 
display the New England fauna to the best advantage. This ques¬ 
tion was not fully solved until the four large cases of mammals 
which obstructed the main floor, were removed. These cases were 
like heavy clouds obscuring everything else, and when they were 
taken away light spread over the whole situation. 
A special collection to be useful or effective should be arranged 
with some continuity. To accomplish this, two things must be con¬ 
sidered : first, the amount of space required, and second, the gen¬ 
eral plan of the Museum. We find that the rooms situated in four 
angles of the building are too small, poorly lighted, and with no 
available space for horizontal cases unless the collection should 
be greatly scattered. We also find that to obtain the requisite 
space in these rooms would require an enormous amount of re¬ 
arrangement and unnecessarily alter the present arrangement of the 
Museum. 
A plan was submitted to and approved by the Museum committee 
whereby the New England collection will occupy all of the wall 
cases of the main floor and the entire main gallery. New England 
paleontology will be placed in the extreme eastern end between the 
two rooms devoted to American and foreign paleontology, while 
the remaining space will be given to the birds and mammals. On 
the gallery will be arranged the reptiles, batrachians, fishes, and all 
of the invertebrates. Thus that which is to be the leading feature 
of the Museum will also be the most prominent and occupy a cen¬ 
tral position from which all portions of the general collection will 
diverge. 
Mammals and Birds. 
To make room for the mammals in the cases above referred to, it 
was necessary to reduce the number of birds on exhibition. The 
