REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1919. 107 



The collection of gems and precious stones it is deemed advisable 

 to separate from the mineral collections and the work of recata- 

 logiiing, weighing-, and measuring has been placed in the hands of 

 Miss Margaret Moodey, recorder, in addition to her other duties. 

 Naturally the work must progi'ess slowly, but it is being done very 

 satisfactorily. 



In the division of paleontology preparatory work on the remain- 

 der of the material collected by Secretary Walcott's party during 

 the field season of 1917 was completed. Other work undertaken in 

 his laboratory was the preparation of the Middle Cambrian algae 

 and sponges, the study of which has been the secretary's principal 

 scientific work during the year. His paper on the Appendages of 

 Trilobites was completed and issued in December, 1918. 



The curator. Dr. R. S. Bassler, devoted much time to placing in 

 final condition the thousands of types and thin sections figured in 

 Bulletin 106 of the United States National Museum, in proof read- 

 ing, and other work incidental to this and other paleontological 

 papers in course of publication by the Museum. His special in- 

 vestigations have been directed toward the completion of a mono- 

 graph on the Late Tertiary Bryozoa of North America, in collabora- 

 tion with M. Ferdinand Canu, of Versailles, France, and to the 

 determination of the geological horizon of numerous rock samples 

 from, deep-well drillings at various points along the Atlantic and 

 Gulf Coastal Plains, submitted for report by the United States 

 Geological Survey and other Government bureaus. This latter work 

 was part of the war activities, undertaken in order to determine the 

 underground geolog}' and to locate the water zones and the geological 

 horizons of other economically important materials. As the bryozoans 

 can be determined from microscopic fragments, they often prove to 

 be the only class of fossils preserved in these borings which can be 

 used in such work. A purely scientific result was the practical com- 

 pletion of the monograph mentioned above. This, with its com- 

 panion work on the Early Tertiary Bryozoa of North America, com- 

 pletes the study of the group. 



Doctor Bassler has also completed a volume on the geology and 

 paleontology of the Cambrian and Ordovician systems of Maryland, 

 under the joint auspices of the Geological Survey of that State and 

 the United States National Museum. Most of the paleontological 

 material upon which the report is based is in the collections of the 

 National Museum. 



Dr. C. E. Eesser has assisted in a general rearrangement of 

 the Lower and Middle Ordovician stratigraphic collections, and 

 spent much time in the preparation and placing of materials ac- 

 quired during the year. All of the Cambrian study collections, ex- 

 clusive of those under the direct charge of Secretary Walcott, which 



