OPEEATIONS OF THE YEAE. 



APPROPRIATIONS. 



The items of appropriation for the maintenance and operations of 

 the National Musemn for the year covered by this report, namely, 

 from July 1, 1914, to June 30, 1915, contained in the sundry civil act 

 approved August 1, 1914, were as follows : 



Preservation of collections $300, 000 



Furniture and fixtures 25,000 



Heating and lighting 46,000 



Building repairs 10,000 



Purchase of books 2,000 



Postage 500 



Printing and binding 37,500 



Total 421,000 



BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. 



As explained in previous reports, both the roofs and skylights on 

 the new building developed serious and extensive defects which were 

 first observed at an early date, and much work has been done from 

 time to time toward remedying these conditions. During last year it 

 was necessary to refasten 4,018 lineal feet and to replace with new 

 material 116 feet of the copper roofing. Following an experiment 

 made the previous year, one entire side of the large skylight over the 

 north wing was remodeled, and, it is thought, in a manner that will 

 prove satisfactory. The original construction was so faulty and in- 

 adequate, however, as to require the substitution of new cross and 

 condensation gutters, new copper cap and glass rests, heavier lead 

 washers under the nuts of the bolts, and thicker strips of lead between 

 the glass and the ribs. The section attended to represents only one- 

 sixth of the skylight area, all of which. should receive the same 

 treatment. The exterior of the metal frames of all the large win- 

 dows in the first and second stories of the new building were given a 

 coat of aluminum paint. 



In the older Museum building about 4,000 square feet of unpro- 

 tected ceiling, mainly in the courts, were covered with beaded sheet 

 metal, the same as has been used elsewhere, to prevent the falling of 

 old and decomposed plaster. The terra cotta and marble floors in the 

 rotunda and main halls, which had become badly worn and broken, 

 were extensively repaired, requiring the replacing of about 1,000 of 

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