KEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1915. 19 



the tiles and marble slabs. There was much to do in the pointing up 

 and painting of walls and ceilings, and the tin roofs over the various 

 sections of the building were treated with flexible metallic paint. 

 The old cement water table along the western side of the building 

 was replaced with granolithic pavement for half its length. 



The principal repairs in the Smithsonian building under the regu- 

 lar appropriation consisted in the replacing of certain badly rotted 

 or wornout floors in the basement and in the second story of the main 

 structure. More extensive and important repairs and alterations, 

 however, were carried on under specific appropriations, one having 

 reference solely to the exterior, the other to the interior of the build- 

 ing. Under the first, the stone walls were thoroughly pointed up with 

 cement mortar, the original lime mortar used 65 years ago having 

 lost its strength, and in many places having been entirely washed out 

 between the stones; loose stones, which occurred abundantly in the 

 battlements, were reset, broken ones being replaced ; the roofs at the 

 east end of the building and on several of the towers were repaired or 

 replaced, and new fiinials of aluminum were provided for three of the 

 latter; a large number of windows were repaired or rebuilt; the 

 areaways were repaired and most of the entrance steps were reset; 

 and a granolithic water table was laid along the north and west 

 sides of the building where the foundations were not protected 

 by areaway constructions. The above repairs were very necessary 

 to the preservation of the Smithsonian building, of which the 

 exterior masonry and the windows have given much concern for 

 a long time. Sections of this building were completed in succession 

 between 1848 and 1855, since which latter date the exterior walls, ex- 

 cept to a limited extent, have never received any serious attention. 

 Following the great fire of 1865 the walls of the main section of the 

 building were carefully scrutinized and were in part reinforced, but 

 evidences of the ravages of the fire have been plainly apparent until 

 now. 



The other changes in the Smithsonian building specifically author- 

 ized by Congress have been in progress during two years and will not 

 be completed until some time in the current year. They relate en- 

 tirely to the main hall, which was fitted up under an act of Congress 

 for the first exhibitions by the National Museum in 1857 and 1858, 

 since which time there had been no essential alteration in the arrange- 

 ments. The room was originally provided with a gallery and with 

 series of cases on the two floors thus formed, both of which were in- 

 strumental in cutting off a large part of the light from the middle 

 portion of the room. The upper exhibition cases were removed some 

 years ago, but without a very measurable effect. In accordance with 

 the plans now being carried out, the galleries have been entirely 

 removed, as have also all fixed exhibition cases. Steel book stacks 



