SOME IMPORTANT MATTERS OF THE YEAR. 



THE NEW BUILDING. 



Although it had been expected, as explained in the last report, 

 that the new building would be finished before the close of the year, 

 delayed contracts and other circumstances interfered with the prog- 

 ress of the work to such an extent that no part of the structure was in 

 readiness for occupancy at the end of June. The entire stonework of 

 the outer walls of the building, including the porch, columns, and front 

 of the south pavilion in which the main entrance is located, was, 

 however, completed, as w^ere also the roofs and skylights of the build- 

 ing generally. The placing of the slate on the dome of the rotunda 

 and on the adjacent roof of the south pavilion was under way. liut the 

 laying of the extensive granite approaches, for which the stone has 

 been delivered, had not been begun. 



Much remains to be done in the interior of the rotunda, but as it is 

 the main part of the building that is most urgently needed, for the 

 accommodation of the collections and laboratories, it is there that 

 the work has been most energetically prosecuted. Except for some 

 special items, such as metal doors, transoms, etc., the construction of 

 which will continue through several months, it is expected that at 

 least some parts of the building will be ready for use and that the 

 moving from the older buildings may be started before autumn. 



It is interesting to mention that the building has already been made 

 to serve a commendable purpose — as the meeting place of the Sixth 

 International Tuberculosis Congress, held in the earlj^ autumn of 

 1908. Being then in a very unfinished condition, it was necessary to 

 make special arrangements, authorized by an act of Congress, for such 

 partitions and other fittings as were required for the accommodation 

 of the several sections and for the display of the extensive collections 

 that were brought together. A large part of the first and second 

 floors, as well as of the basement, was given over to the congress, and 

 while the progress of construction of the building was thereby much 

 retarded, the delay may be regarded as fully sanctioned by the excep- 

 tionally important nature of the event which occasioned it. 



Good progress was made in the preparation and construction of 

 furniture for the new building, more especially for the storage rooms 

 and laboratories, in which it is intended, so far as possible, to utilize 

 the best quality of fireproof material. The boiler and electrical plant 

 installed in this building, which embodies the latest improvements 



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