Oct. 1899. Annual Report of the Director. 365 



caudal vertebrae, and eight ribs of Diplodocus; ilium, ischium, femur, 

 and metapodils of Creosaurus, and tibia and fibula of Camptosaurus. 

 Many of these remains illustrate the great size attained by these an- 

 cient reptiles. Thus the Morosaurus femur obtained is five and one- 

 fourth feet in length, the scapula and coracoid are five and one-half 

 feet in length and have a weight of 400 lbs., and the centra of the 

 caudal vertebrae of Brontosaurus have a diameter of thirteen inches. 

 Besides the above, several species of Jurassic invertebrates were col- 

 lected and about six dozen negatives, showing quarry views, strati- 

 graphy and land sculpture of the region were made by Mr, Menke. 

 Through the courtesy of the officials of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa 

 Fe Railway, opportunity was given Mr. W. N. Logan to make a 

 special collection of fossils of the Fort Benton beds of Central Kansas 

 for the Museum. He spent about a month in the field and secured 

 about 200 specimens of the fossil invertebrates and septaria which 

 characterize those beds. Mr. Surber, the regular collector in the De- 

 partment of Zoology, has done effective work in Oklahoma Territory. 

 Mr. Elliot, the Curator of the Department, accompanied the Harri- 

 man expedition to the Northwest as an invited guest, but not specially 

 as the representative of the Museum. He, however, obtained several 

 valuable specimens and will undoubtedly make notable contributions 

 to the literature of natural history. Mr. Meek, the assistant curator 

 in the Department of Zoology, was quite successful in an expedition 

 to California, and on the occasion of visits to adjacent biological 

 stations. 



Installation, Rearrangement, and Permanent Improvement. — 

 Among the permanent improvements in and about the Museum, and 

 in addition to the work involved in re-installation, may be mentioned 

 the construction of a second story to the Taxidermist's shop, 30 by 60 

 feet in area. The lower floor is now entirely devoted to storage of 

 specimens considered too valuable to be placed in the Jefferson 

 Avenue building. The Laboratories of the Departments of Zoology 

 and of Botany, have also been practically rebuilt and very considerably 

 extended. Repairs to the building itself are a source of constant at- 

 tention, the care required and the money expended increasing each 

 year. Foundation stones were placed under Rooms 20, 22 and 5. An 

 experiment in whitewashing above the line of the base on the outside 

 of the building has proved so successful as to warrant going over the 

 entire course, and the plaster statuary at the entrance of the building 

 has received needed attention. The work of reinstalling the East 

 Court has been completed this year and it is now devoted exclusively 



