DEPARTMENT OF TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM. 301 



MAGNETIC SURVEY OF LAND AREAS. 



Very satisfactory progress has been made bj^ the various land expe- 

 ditions, though, during the period since the outbreak of the inter- 

 European war, some changes in plans became necessary and increased 

 expense ensued. The chief expeditions were: 



1. Coastal trips by Observer W. F. Wallis in Tripolitana and Egypt and 



interior trips in Abyssinia. 



2. Coastal trips by Observer H. E. Sawyer in middle-western Africa and 



extensive interior trips in Nigeria. 



3. Extensive interior trip in the Belgian Congo by Observer D. M. Wise. 



4. Practical completion of the remaining portion of the general magnetic 



survey of Australia, necessitating difficult and lengthy interior trips 

 by camel caravan and by automobile, by Observers E. Kidson (chief 

 of party), W. C. Parkinson, F. Brown, and A. L. Kennedy. Some 

 work was also done in the outlying islands. 



5. The complete crossing from west to east of Peru and Bolivia, via Arica, 



La Paz, and Corumba; thence north along the Guapore and Madeira 

 Rivers to the Amazon River, by Observer H. R. Schmitt. 



6. Completion of an expedition by Observer A. D. Power, mainly by 



canoes, in Venezuela. Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil, going up the 

 Meta River to Bogota, Colombia, and descending the Putamayo 

 River to the Amazon, thence along the latter river to Manaos, Brazil. 



INVESTIGATIONAL WORK IN WASHINGTON. 



RESEARCH BUILDINGS. 



The permanent facilities provided for the investigational and admin- 

 istrative work at Washington at the close of the fiscal year are as 

 follows: 



1. A site of 7.4 acres, admirably located amidst rural surroundings, in 



the District of Columbia, in close proximity to the extensive National 

 Rock Creek Park and sufficiently removed from industrial disturbing 

 influences. 



2. A commodious fire-proof building, sohdly built of reinforced concrete 



and brick, containing the Director's headquarters and working- 

 rooms for the staff, library and archives, physical laboratory, instru- 

 ment shop, testing laboratories, and storage rooms. The mam 

 building consists of a sub-basement, a basement, two floors, a 

 spacious and well-lighted attic, and a specially constructed roof with 

 observation deck. It is 102 feet long, 52 feet wide, 49 feet from the 

 ground to the roof, and 62 feet from the foundations of the sub- 

 basement to the roof. Its erection was begun in May 1913, and it 

 was completed on February 14, 1914. 



3. A non-magnetic building (standardizing magnetic observatory), 28 feet 



wide and 58 feet long, with a bay on the east side 21.5 feet long and 

 9.5 feet vnde, in order to provide the necessary facilities for tests and 

 researches requiring a non-magnetic structure. This observatory is 

 sufficiently removed from the main building to be practically beyond 

 ■ its disturbing influence. 



