EEPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1910. 49 



In the division of vertebrate paleontology excellent progress was 

 made in the preparation of material for both exhibition and study. 

 Over 250 separate bones of Stegosaurus remains were worked out. A 

 skeleton of Ceratosaurus nasicornis was made ready for final mounting, 

 while the mount of a Basilosaums was nearing completion. A 

 beginning was also made in the preparation of skeletons of Campto- 

 saurus hrowni and C. nanus. These will all form valuable additions 

 to the exhibition series, the zeuglodon (Basilosaums) being the first 

 of its kind to be mounted in any museum of the world, its nearest 

 approach being the grotesque Hydrachus prepared and exhibited by 

 Koch in Germany in 1847. 



The collections in the division of mvertebrate paleontology are 

 now well systematized. A large number of boxes of unstudied mate- 

 rial which had been in storage were unpacked and made ready for 

 examination, and some additions and improvements were made in 

 the biologic series. The additions to the Cambrian collection were, 

 under the supervision of the Secretary of the Institution, prepared 

 for study, being numbered, labeled, and catalogued as the work 

 progressed. 



The number of lots of specimens received from correspondents for 

 identification and reported on by letter was 433, distributed among 

 the different divisions of the department as follows: Systematic and 

 applied geology, 282; mineralogy, 103; fossil invertebrates, 20; fossil 

 vertebrates, 25; fossil plants, 3. 



Exhibition collections. — As above stated, circumstances did not 

 warrant making any appreciable additions to the exhibition collec- 

 tions installed in the public halls, and in fact the transfer of several 

 of the collections to the new building caused them to be temporarily 

 withdrawTi from view. The following exliibitions, however, still 

 remained open to the public in the old building at the close of the 

 year, namely: Stratigraphic geology, minerals and gems, building 

 stones, metallic and nonmetallic minerals in applied geology, inverte- 

 brate paleontolog}^ and paleobotany. 



Researches. — In view of the circumstances already explained, com- 

 paratively little research work was done. The number of publica- 

 tions by members of the staff of the department amounted to 31. A 

 new meteorite was described by the head curator, Dr. George P. 

 Merrill. Dr. F. B. Laney, assistant curator in geology, began an 

 investigation of the copper ores, mth the object of establishing the 

 primary or secondary origin and order of crystallization of the vari- 

 ous minerals constituting both the ore and gangue, the method 

 adopted being that of studying polished surfaces under the microscope 

 and by reflected light. Some interesting results were accomplished, 

 but the work was cut short by the resignation of Dr. Laney to accept 

 71245°— NAT sius 1910 4 



