( 4 8o) 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF 

 BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. 



To the Director-in-Chief. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the report of this 

 department, for the year ending December 31, 1902. 



Buildings. 



1. Museum. Only ordinary repairs, such as mending 

 leaks in the roof, painting the window frames and columns 

 at the main entrance, and calcimining part of the walls, were 

 required. About one half of the stone, brick and terra cotta 

 work on the exterior was painted early in the spring. A 

 completion of that work would be desirable for its satisfactory 

 preservation. 



The sub-cellar under the lecture hall has been flooded twice 

 by heavy rain-storms owing to unexpected clogging of the 

 drains from some cause not determined ; the trouble was 

 overcome by a temporary new drain connection, but the lay- 

 ing of a new 6- or 8-inch permanent earthen pipe, to outflow 

 behind the building into the lakes, seems to be the only satis- 

 factory way to ensure safety. 



2. Public Conservatories. These houses have been kept 

 well painted on the interior wherever it could be done without 

 removing plants. 



Very little breakage of glass has been caused by snow-storms 

 or by expansion or contraction ; about 83 lights however were 

 broken, and other damages done to the framework, by unpro- 

 tected blasts of rock near the eastern wing of the buildings 

 by the John B. Devlin Contracting Company, for which I 

 submitted to you an itemized bill against this company. The 

 damage was promptly repaired. 



Five air-shafts of brick and cement have been built on the 

 subways, for ventilation. 



3. Propagating Houses. These houses have required only 

 minor repairs. They have been painted wherever it was 



