REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 23 



sou<^lit in connection with such important structures as the Lincohi 

 Memorial, the Washington Cathedral, and many other public build- 

 ings. His treatise on "Stones for liuilding and Decoration'' run 

 to three editions. 



Again, his researches on rock weathering and soil formation led 

 an eminent authority to say: "The greatest work on the genesis of 

 soils we owe to Merrill." A publication on "Non-Metallic Min- 

 erals — Their Occurrence and Uses '' further illustrates his versatility 

 in geological research. 



Later, the collectit)n of meteorites in the Museum became the object 

 of special interest, his researches on these celestial bodies, resulting 

 in no less than GO papers, receiving recognition b}'^ the presentation 

 of the J. Lawrence JSmith meda! of (he National Academy of Sciences. 

 •' The Story of Meteorite.^-," written in popular style, appeared us 

 part 1 of volume ?> of the Smithsonian Scientific Series — " Minerals 

 from Earth and Sky." 



Among the most interesting and valuable of his many contribu- 

 tions is his historical work on geological subjects. His " contribu- 

 tions to a History of American Geology," published in 1904 as part 

 of the report of the Smithsonian Institution, was, in 1924, e.xpandcd 

 into " The First One Hundred Years of American Geology." He also 

 compiled a " History of American State Geological and Natural 

 History Surveys," issued as Bulletin 109 of the National Museum. 



A paper for the Museum's archives, practically completed just 

 before Doctor Merrill left on his vacation from which he never re- 

 turned, is "An Historical Account of the Department of Geology in 

 the U. S. National Museum " — most timely in its preparation since 

 no other could have been so well qualified to prepare such a record. 



ARTHUR BENONI BAKEIt 



Arthur Benoni Baker, assistant director of the National Zoological 

 Park, died in "Washington February 8, 1930. Mr. Baker was born 

 at Otisco, New York, in 1858, and as a young man worked in Ward's 

 natural science establishment. At that time Ward's, though a com- 

 mercial institution, served as a training school for numerous young 

 men who afterwards attained distinction in scientific work. With Mr. 

 Baker were such men as Carl Akeley and William Morton Wheeler. 

 Later Mr. Baker spent eight years fossil hunting in Kansas, and 

 then in Novemlx'r, 1890, accepted a position in the National Zoologi- 

 cal Park, where he served continuously until his death, except for a 

 period of six months when he was on furlough and in charge of the 

 Boston Zoological Garden. 



In 1909 he made a trip to Nairobi, East Africa, and brought home 

 a collection of animals that had been presented to the Zoo by Sir 



