In planning an exhibit from the Department of Biology many points have to be taken into consideration, such as the letter and spirit of the law providing for a Government exhibit; the purpose of the exposition as a whole; the conditions existing as regards obtaining specimens suitable for exhibition; the relative significance arid attractiveness of different exhibits to the general public.

In the case of the Pan-American Exposition the underlying idea was so clearly defined that no difficulty was experienced in determined the proper scope of the exhibit. The Exposition, as its name implies, was intended to,present America as a whole. It was fitting, therefore, that the animals and plants of North, South, arid Central American should be represented, while a representation of the fauna and flora of the rest of the world could with propriety be omitted.

The exhibit of the Department was thus limited and only American objects were represented. From experience gained by participation in other expositions it was felt that, generally speaking, large objects mould be more suitable and better appreciated than small ones, and it was decided, therefore, to confine, the zoological exhibit to the vertebrates. There is no question that it representation of the invertebrate fauna of America world have proved interesting to the public, especially such classes of animals as the insects, corals, mollusks, etc., but in proportion to the outlay of time involved in the preparation of a thoroughly attractive exhibit the vertebrates appeared to offer the best topic. A display of the flora of America was necessarily omitted because the Museum is without resources in this direction, its botanical collection consisting entirely of dried plants and specimens in alcohol, which are unsuitable for a popular exhibit. To obtain a creditable botanical exhibit by field work was impossible in the time allotted.

In order to make the exhibit of the vertebrate animals of America is significant and attractive as possible the best specimens in every class were withdrawn from the exhibition series of the Museum, and these were supplemented by specimens purchased wherever obtainable. In addition four field parties were sent out to gather material not otherwise available. Dr. L. Stejneger, Curator of the Division of Reptiles. and Dr. C.W. Richmond, assistant curator of the Division of Birds, were sent to Porto Rico and the other West Indian Islands; Mr. William Palmer, chief taxidermist, and Mr. J.H. Riley, aid in the Section of Birds' Eggs, were sent to Cuba; Mr. B.A. Bean, assistant. curator, Division of Fishes, and Mr. King, to Key West, Florida, while Prof. J.B. Steer undertook to obtain fishes and other vertebrates front the Amazon River.

Drs. Stejneger and Richmond did excellent work in Porto Rico, obtaining a large collection of birds and reptiles, but were prevented by sickness and the uncertainties of transportation front visiting other West Indian Islands, as was originally intended. The operations of Messrs. Palmer and Rile y were confined to western Cuba, where large collections of birds, reptiles, and mammals were made, but the collectors were prevented by lack of time from visiting the eastern end of the island.

In order to accomplish anything of importance it was necessary to send these parties out early, while the general plans of the Government board as regards buildings, allotment of space, and exhibits from the outlying possessions of the United States were still incomplete. The original plans were considerably modified before being adopted, the total amount of space in the Government building was reduced, and endeavors to form general exhibits from Cuba and Porto Rico under the Government board were abandoned on account of the action of the governors of these islands in providing separate displays. It resulted that only a portion of the material collected could be exhibited, and this was incorporated with the general Museum exhibits.

The work of Professor Steere on the Amazon resulted in our obtaining excellent series of characteristic fresh-water fishes of flits region, together with characteristic tortoises and other reptiles.

In addition to the material obtained by these collecting parties the Museum secured many fine, characteristic North American mammals, birds, and reptiles through its correspondents and through various dealers in natural-history material.

When completed tile exhibit contained a very full outline Series of the vertebrate animals of North America and a smaller but still significant series from South and Central American . Among the mammals were such striking forms as the Kodiak boar, glacier bear, Alaska moose, Dall's white sheep, Stolle's sheep, musk ox; such birds as the condor, Californian vulture, rhea or American ostrich, wild turkey, harpy eagle, various gay-colored toucans, the ara, Carolina paroquet, whooping crane, steamer duck, penguin, etc., together with rattlesnakes, boas, Gila monster, alligator snapper, matamata, mud eel, Cuban toad, and other characteristic American reptiles and batrachians and a large, series of useful, curious, and brilliantly colored American fishes. A more detailed account of the principal feature's of the exhibit will 1be found on a later page.

Taxidermy

In connection with the Buffalo exhibit system of accessories was adopted which, so far as I am aware, has not been attempted hitherto on a large scale. It was impracticable on account of limited space to exhibit groups showing the habits and natural surroundings of various species, while to display the specimens on plain wooden stands was thought to deprive them to a certain extent of attractiveness. A compromise was therefore effected by using small stands and suggesting, the environment by the introduction of a few plants, a rock or two, a little snow, a branch of a tree. etc. Thus, the Kodiak bear was placed on a stand having on it a small section of rock, a little sloping area or sand and a dead salmon. The fish-eating habit of this Alaskan hear was thus suggested in a very small space. The indigo snake was mounted on a base covered with sand, with a pine cone or two and a bit of palmetto to indicate that it is a denizen of the pine barrens. The condor was represented as perched on a pointed rock, suggesting mountain habitat. This treatment was not adopted for fishes, as any endeavor to represent their environment would have caused a greater expenditure of time and money than the circumstances permitted They were represented for the most part by painted plaster casts drawn from the Museum exhibition series. These were supplemented by the Key West collection, and by Professor Steere's collection from the Amazon River, preserved in formalin. The manner in which these two series of fishes were prepared presented some novel features and is deserving of a short explanation.

The collectors were provided with a number of shallow galvanized-iron pans, having, a uniform length of 2 feet, a quantity of formalin, injecting syringes, etc. The fish were injected as soon as obtained and placed in pans, with the fins carefully spread out in natural positions. A dilute solution of formalin was then poured Into the pans and allowed to remain until the specimens hardened properly. They were then taken out and wrapped in cloth and packed with great care.

In the meantime a series of 80 square glass jars, each 2 feet long and 1 foot high, were purchased in Germany, and an equal number of plaster of Paris plaques provided, 1 inch thick and exactly long and high enough to fit the jars. As soon as the fish and jars reached Buffalo the fish were attached to the plaques and placed in the jars and dilute formalin poured in. With one or two exceptions the specimens remained in excellent condition throughout the exposition. The form of the body and fins was exactly preserved, and the color remained sufficiently to give a very good idea of the appearance of the fish when alive, though the brighter tints of many of the species were in most cases subdued or lost. No method of preserving the life colors perfectly is yet known. To a large extent they appear to be physiological phenomena. The experiment, as a whole, may be considered very successful. At the end of six months' exposure at Buffalo the collection was apparently in as good condition as at the beginning, and was transferred to the Charleston Exposition without any further preparation.

CASES AND INSTALLATION.

On account of the large size of some of the mammals, the exhibit of the Department of Biology occupied the center of the space allotted to the Museum. Two wall cases 40 feet long, 10 feet highland 4 feet deep were constructed for the mammals at right angles with the main aisle, and flanking them along the west, wall was a similar but shallower case for the fishes.

The birds occupied eight standard Museum screen cases, 8 feet 6 inches long, in front of the mammal cases, and in front of these were four standard Museum slope-top cases, 8 feet 6 inches long, for the reptiles and batrachians. A special case was occupied by the humming birds.

On account of the small space available, no attempt was made to assemble the different species in faunal groups, an arrangement which under proper conditions would have been very desirable. In temporary expositions the refinements of classification adopted in museums can seldom be carried out. The Government building at such expositions is generally constructed on broad architectural lines to accommodate the diverse exhibits of the several executive departments and bureaus. The lighting and interior arrangements of the portion allotted in such buildings to the National Museum rarely permit the carrying; out of any preconcerted plan rigorously. The collections was fitted to the space rather than the space to the collections. This limitation was experienced in Buffalo no less than at previous expositions. The condition, as already stated, was met by the abandonment of faunal lines and the mingling together of animals from the from the northern and southern parts of the American continents. The loss of faunal boundaries was probably not felt except by naturalists. The eye rested everywhere on American species and only American, and the labels indicated what particular region each animal inhabited.

All the larger mammals and all the, birds, reptiles, batrachians, and fishes were furnished with descriptive labels, containing in untechnical language the most interesting facts in the natural history of the various species. The preparation of these labels involved no little labor, and amounted in effect to writing a popular treatise on the natural history of the more characteristic American vertebrates. The labels for the reptiles and batrachians were prepared fly Dr. L. Stejneger, those for the birds by Dr. C.W. Richmond, for the mammals by Mr. G. S. Miller jr., and for the fishes by Mr. B. A. Bean. Specimens of these labels are subjoined.

[ed note: the remainder of the biology exhibit report describes individual species displayed and has not been included.]