EEPORT OF THE SECRETABY. 43 



in a shed outside the eastern entrance to the Museum, the court being 

 thus available for exhibition purposes. By a reassignment of exhibi- 

 tion space, the exhibition area of this department was made to include 

 the whole of the west-south range, instead of a portion of this range 

 and a portion of the court, as heretofore. The new arrangement is 

 vastly preferable both on account of the better light thus obtained and . 

 of greater convenience in arranging and chxssifying the exhibit. In May 

 the force of the department was again increased by the addition of one 

 aid, one clerk, and three stone-cutters, and the preparation of a collec- 

 tion of building-stones commenced for the American Museum of N'atural 

 History in New York. This collection will, when complete, comprise not 

 less than one thousand specimens, and an equal number of thin sections 

 for microscopical study. This work was still in progress at the end of 

 June. The number of entries in the department catalogue during the 

 six months has been 486, comprising some 700 specimens. These will 

 be fully described in the Museum report for the first half of 1885. Con- 

 siderable time has been devoted to the preparation of the various ex- 

 hibition series, particularly those included under lithology, and histori- 

 cal, dynamical, and structural geology. The last three are as yet far 

 from completion, and at the j^resent rate of progress, which is neces- 

 sarily very limited, must so continue for several years. On this point 

 Mr. Merrill comments as follows: 



"I may, perhaps, be i^ardoned for mentioning here the fact that from 

 past experience, 1 am convinced that the only satisfactory way in which 

 these last-named branches of my department can be built up, is to 

 allow the curator, or some experienced person, a certain sum of money 

 to be expended either in "the purchase of collections under his direct 

 sui)ervisiou, or of especially desirable material. A very considerable 

 portion of the material now necessary for this purpose is of such a 

 nature — principally on account of the bulk and weight of the speci- 

 mens — as to be beyond the scope of the ordinary collector, and in too 

 little demand to be found in man}' of the natural-history stores. 1 

 might mention such examples as fault structure, examples of folds, 

 contortion, false bedding, &c., which can scarcely be obtained by other 

 than the means suggested." 



Department of Metallurgij and Economic Geology. — At the opening of 

 the year the curator, Mr. F. P. Dewey, was still detained at New Or- 

 leans, arranging the collection which had been sent from his dei)art- 

 ment to the Exposition, and he did not return to Washington till the 

 middle of January. The design of the special exhibit of this department 

 was to show, as far as the time and means at his disposal would per- 

 mit, the prominent occurrences of each metal, the methods of extract 

 ing the metals from their ores, and the utilization of the metals. To 

 these were a.dded a few illustrations of non-metallic ores and their 

 utilization, including a very extensive and valuable illustration of the 

 (;oal industry. Most of the ore material was selected froui the Museum 

 collection, and only a very few new collections were made. These lat- 

 ter were taken upon a systematic plan representing the mine as a unit 



