EEPOKT OF ASSISTANT SECEETARY. 17 



and both demand constant attention and repair, at some expense. 

 Before many 3'ears a new roof will become absolutely necessar}^ but 

 in the meantime it is proposed, should the regular appropriations suf- 

 fice for the purpose, to gradually replace the slate coverings with bet- 

 ter material, as only in this manner can the more pressing difficulties 

 be even temporarily overcome. 



The leaks w^hich have occurred through many years, and the fre- 

 quent repairs to walls and ceilings, had so defaced the interior of the 

 greater part of the Museum building as to render it unsightl}" in the 

 extreme. At the beginning of the fiscal year it was decided to remedy 

 these conditions so far as possible by painting those parts of the build- 

 ing which required it, in accordance with a simple but artistic scheme 

 of color. The rotunda and main halls were first completed, and next 

 three of the courts, leaving only one of the latter to be done during 

 the current j^ear. The ranges do not call for any changes in this 

 respect at present. With this improvement the building has now 

 been placed in a far more presentable condition than ever before. 



Another improvement in the Museum building has been the arrange- 

 ment of inner screen doors at the eastern or freight entrance, so as to 

 close off from the public or exhibition halls the vestibule in which 

 packages are received. Some of the rooms over this same entrance, 

 used by the Division of Plants, have also been modified and enlarged. 



The archeological hall in the Smithsonian building has been closed 

 to the public during nearly the entire year. In September, 1902, so 

 manj^ large pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling that its condition was 

 declared unsafe, and though all of the loose plaster was subsequentl}" 

 removed, yet the appearance of the hall does not justify its reopening 

 at ji resent. It is expected, however, to make such temporary repairs 

 before the close of another year as will permit of its being again made 

 accessible. 



ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. 



The number of accessions or separate lots of material received dur- 

 ing the year was 1,643, being 231 more than in 1902. They comprised 

 about 236,580 specimens of all kinds, bringing the total number of 

 specimens in the several departments of the Museum up to about 

 5,651,861. There were also received for identification 886 lots of speci- 

 mens, the most of which were returned to the senders with the infor- 

 mation requested. 



The most constant and important sources of material are the national 

 surveys and explorations, whose collections are, by law, transferred 

 to the custody of the Museum as soon as the necessary studies upon 

 them have been completed. The bureaus which figure most promi- 

 nently in this work are the Geological Survey, the Fish Commission, 

 the Biological Survey, and the Divisions of Insects and Plants of the 



NAT MUS 19Uo 2 



