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3

"From July, 1871, to [[strikethrough]] January, 1875 [[/strikethrough]] November 1874, he was detailed on field work in Alaska by the United States Coast Survey, and again in 1880. During these periods the curatorship remained practically vacant. While engaged in the above-mentioned field work, dredgings were carried out over nearly the whole coast of Alaska, and of invertebrates alone, from 1871 to 1875, not less than 100,000 specimens were forwarded to the Museum. On his return [[light strikethrough]] in 1875 [[/strikethrough]], the question of representation in the Centennial Exhibition was mooted, and the curator of mollusks devoted, with the exception of his Sundays, every spare hour of his time for six months in preparing a collection of economic invertebrates for that occasion.

"The funds available for this purpose indirectly benefited the collection by the duplicates which came in with specimens collected for exhibition and which were administered upon simultaneously.

"At this time the valuable services of Mr. F. G. Sandborn were temporarily obtained, and by hard and constant work the [[^original]] general collection of the Museum was labeled, cleaned, and systematically arranged. The policy of the curator from that time forward has been simple. [[strikethrough]]until[[/strikethrough]]

"Specimens of a general character coming in are carefully registered and boxed and put in store." [[strikethrough]] A collection prepared by the late Dr. James Lewis, for the Centennial, of the land and fresh water shells of the United States, carefully labeled, catalogued, and packed, has been retained in its original boxes." [[/strikethrough]] Everything of value or not administered upon has been put away, packed and secluded, safe from harm at lease, until better times for the collection should arrive. In this way only could the progress made be held good. Until skilled assistance and a constant guardianship are available, it would be very unwise to expose to the inevitable

*Subsequent reports will show that from 1884 a different state of things has fortunately been possible.