EEPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1915. 17 



economic importance, the methods of mining or extraction from the 

 ground, the processes of manufacture and refining, and the finished 

 products, including the by-products. As will be realized, this plan 

 must chiefly be carried out by means of models, occupying the bulk 

 of the exhibition space and constituting a series of features so strik- 

 ing and so replete with novelties as to furnish a most effective object 

 lesson not only for the casual visitor but for the student and expert 

 as well. The installations so far made indicate the great possibilities 

 of the future in teaching, as clearly and truthfully as is possible 

 within the limited compass of a museum, the varied activities attend- 

 ant upon the preparation of mineral substances for the use of man. 

 The main details of the entire plan were outlined in advance, and 

 though only started within a short time, the work has gone forward 

 so rapidly that a large number of the prominent exhibits are already 

 completed and placed. These have served to so arouse the interest 

 and secure the aid of mining and manufacturing companies that still 

 greater progress may be expected hereafter. 



Besides the collections, the division is assembling the informa- 

 tion necessary for the preparation of descriptive accounts of the 

 several mineral industries, which cannot fail to be of great service 

 in technological teaching. 



12264°— NAT Mus 1915 2 



