MERRILL SCHUCHERT 021 



year ^Merrill was promoted to be actin<j curator in charge of the 

 division of litliolo<z:y and physical f!:c(»lo«ry, working on tlic collec- 

 tion of building stones, and starting another one having to do with 

 ])hysical geology. In the annual report for 18Si, he says that for 

 whatever material the department possessed prior to \HS2 it was 

 largely indebted to the Centennial P^xposition of 187G held at Phila- 

 delphia, the Tenth Census, and tlie various national geological sur- 

 veys. It was this material that he was then laboring to |)ut into 

 museum order. " The years immediately following the death of 

 Hawes were full of hard work and much trial." In 1889 Morrill 

 was promoted to full curatorship, and in 185>7 to head curatorsliip in 

 tlie newly organized department of geology, embracing the divi- 

 sions: (1) Physical and chemical geology, with Morrill as curator; 

 (2) mineralogy; and (3) stratigraphic paleontology. This appoint- 

 ment came to him Avhile he was in St. Petersburg attending the 

 International Geological Congress. 



Tliis reorganization whereby tlie entire groological. mineralogical. and paleon- 

 tolopical departments were placed undiT a single arlministratlve head rendered 

 po.ssible. for the first time in the history of the museum, systematic and coordi- 

 nate Work in all ilivisions and at the same time permitted the writing of a 

 consecutive' rei)ort of progress . . . The colUction up to that time had 

 grown In a vory irregular and spasmodic manner, the mineral collection being 

 particularly poor and the meteorites hardly worthy of mention. By moans of 

 money appropriated to the museum for the purpose of taking part in the 

 various expositions I had, however, succeeded in making the geological exhibits 

 comprise something more than a collection of building stones and ores, by 

 seizing the opportunity to build up exhibits along lines in which the museum 

 was particularly weak. (MS. 1924.) 



In Merrills time there were 10 of these expositions. 



As is well known, Merrill proved him.sclf one of the most effective 

 of museum exhibitors and husbandcrs of geologic materials. Under 

 his care the department of geology in the National Museum grew 

 from a small and insignificant beginning to one of the great collec- 

 tions of the world, and one which po.'^sibly is unexcelled. 



Anyone who has held a curatorship in a large museum knows that 

 most of his time goes into the husbanding of the collections in his 

 charge, and caring for the daily work. This routine is greatly in- 

 creased in a national museinn since the Government feels obliged 

 to answer, so far as it can, all questions asked of it by its citizens. 

 Hence, as Merrill has .said, " The curators are subject to a continual 

 bombardment of letters containing queries covering a wide range of 

 natural history topics, which are only too frequently of a trifling 

 nature, dealing with matters which are curious but not important, but 

 all of which require an answer." (MS. 1924.) On the other hand, 

 "the care of the collections and installation of exhibits has always 

 been considered the first duty of the departmental force. Research, 



