106 REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1&19. 



the various consular agents. A portion of the reply * * * i inclose here- 

 with. You will perceive from this that there is ample supply of material at 

 present available, and which, now that the war is over and if steps are taken 

 within a reasonable length of time, can be landed in New York long before the 

 approximate 900 pounds of crystals now on hand will be exhausted. It should 

 be noted further that there still remain in the hands of the Hirsch Co. up- 

 wards of 7,500 pounds of material, a portion of which is ceii:ainly of a quality 

 suitable for the desired uses. 



Incidentally it may be mentioned that the workroom of the depart- 

 ment was placed at the disposal of the experimental station through- 

 out the period that the Museum was occupied by the War Risk 

 Bureau. The offer, though tendered by Secretary Walcott, was not, 

 however, accepted. 



To the above may be added the statement that the head of the 

 department seems still to be regarded by the Government as an 

 expert on building stones, and subject to call for advice vvdienever 

 occasion arises. No facilities whatever for acquiring the necessary 

 information or experience are afforded, however, except as he may 

 undertake personally and at his own expense. 



It may be added here that no better illustration of the practical 

 value of a museum could be desired than that afforded during the 

 past two years under the exigencies of war. From the first evidences 

 of trouble until the close of hostilities the department was subject to 

 call for material for experimental purposes, particularly along the 

 lines of electricity, radioactivity, light and sound transmission, from 

 all branches of the Government, the Geophysical Laboratory, and 

 numerous private investigators. These demands were not infre- 

 quently for quality of material and in quantities that seriously im- 

 poverished the Museum's supply, and for one particular mineral it 

 culminated in the authorization which has been explained in detail 

 above. Further, it was fortunate that the Museum methods (lines of 

 procedure through which the supplying of these materials was made 

 possible) were fully mapped out, though, through lack of means, 

 not carried out in detail. It is safe to state, however, that the depart- 

 ment met satisfactorily every reasonable demand made upon it dur- 

 ing this trying period, and this notwithstanding a diminished work- 

 ing force, and collections in part almost inaccessible through the 

 occupancy of the halls by the War Risk Bureau. 



Since the resignation of Dr. Edgar T. Wlierry, assistant curator, 

 in August, 1917, no systematic work in the division of mineralogy 

 and petrology has been possible. The collections have, nevertheless, 

 been drawn upon heavily for research materials, as already indi- 

 cated, but no radical changes or additions have been made, and all 

 suggestions left for the new incumbent, Mr. William F. Foshag, who 

 took charge of the division on June 27, only four days before the 

 closing of the fiscal year. 



