REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1923. 107 



chased by the contributor in 1891, and were mounted on hollow 

 crescent rims and fastened with flaps of cotton canvas around the 

 rims, the rims being inside the tires. The inner tubes were con- 

 tinuous and laced all around. It took twenty-four hours to repair 

 a puncture or to replace a broken spoke. 



Among accessions concerned in the utilization of wood which 

 were added to the collections during the year, there should be men- 

 tioned a gift from the Ohio Match Company, Wadsworth, Ohio, of 

 a comprehensive series of specimens representing the manufacture of 

 two-dip or double-tipped matches; specimens of a new insulating 

 and sound deadening material sold as " Balsam-Wool," made from 

 waste sulphite screenings from paper mills and rendered waterproof 

 and fire-resistant, contributed by the Wood Conversion Company, 

 Cloquet, Minn.; and specimens and photographs of ancient cypress 

 wood presented by the National Lumber Manufacturers xVssoeia- 

 tion, of Washington, D. C. The last mentioned specimens were 

 brought to the surface during the excavation for the foundation and 

 basement of the new Walker Hotel at Connecticut Avenue and De 

 Sales Street, Washington, D. C. From the accompanying fossils 

 found, geologists at first believed that the cypress swamp deposit 

 could not be less than 20,000 or 30,000 years old. Later deductions 

 place the age much greater. Due to continuous immersion in water 

 away from the air, the wood is in a marvelous state of preservation, 

 admirably bearing out the claim of the Southern Cypress Manu- 

 facturers' Association, which uses as a slogan for this timber, " the 

 wood eternal." 



From other Government departments, two lots of exhibit material 

 were transferred : From the Office of Blister Rust Control, De- 

 partment of Agriculture, an excellent series of specimens and illus- 

 trations, showing the destruction of white pine by the blister rust 

 and methods suggested for controlling this organism menacing one 

 of our finest forest trees. From the Office of the Quartermaster 

 General, War Department, twenty different articles of German cav- 

 alry equipment made from paper yarns. These articles are an indi- 

 cation of the necessity of the Fatherland to devise substitutes for 

 leather, canvas, etc., during the World War, and show some of the 

 many uses to which paper can be put in an emergency. 



The most important addition of the year to the division of medi- 

 cine, was a collection of Italian hospital supplies of the type used in 

 the World War, which was obtained by transfer from the division of 

 history. This material comprises chests of medical supplies car- 

 ried by mounted batteries, Alpine troops, and motor ambulances at 

 aviation camps; pack-horse pouches; medical officers first-aid packs; 

 kits carried by soldiers of the sanitary corps for giving first aid in the 

 field, etc. The chests, pouches, packs, and kits are complete m every 



