REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 9 



nectert with chemical annlyses of air, sea-water, &c. Much work has 

 alrendj' beeu done by him in this connection. 



Two rooms are occupied by the United States Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey in making i)en(hihim exi)eriments. 



Considerable changes have been made in the central portion of the 

 main building, consequent upon the retransfer of the tem])orary ofiQces 

 to their permanent quarters in the eastern end. The large room on the 

 first floor has been given up exclusively to the collections of bii-ds, shells, 

 and in small part to the tishes; and by the removal of the cases on the 

 south galleries exceptional facilities have been furnished to the curators 

 who have charge of these departments respectively. 



During the year some experiments were made by the Brush Electric 

 Light Company in lighting Washington by means of powerful arc lights 

 placed on top of lofty buildings, the points selected for this purpose 

 being the doiue of the Capitol, the summit of the Smithsonian tower, 

 and the toi) of the Washington JVlonument. To increase the altitude of 

 the Smithsonian tower a pole was erected 50 feet high, the top of which 

 was, therefore, about '200 feet from the ground. At the request of the 

 Institution, General Hazen, Chief Signal Ofticer, was kind enough to 

 lend a large vane, which has been erected, and which serves an admir- 

 able purpose in showing the direction of the wind from over a wide ex- 

 tent of the city. 



National Museum Building. — This building continues to give entire 

 -satisfaction as lully carrying out its objects. As might be expected, 

 the ordinary minor repairs have been required from time to tiuje, but 

 nothing involving any considerable expense. Some of the wooden floors 

 have rotted in places, and may hereafter require renewal. At present, 

 however, the renewal of a few of the boards has answeretl the purpose. 



Major Powell, of the United States Geological Survey, having secured, 

 by Congressional favor, the use of a large fire-proof building in this city, 

 his own oflices and those of a considerable portion of his scientific aids 

 have been transferred from the National Museum building, permitting 

 a rearrangement in the latter, which has been greatly to the convenience 

 of the service. The rooms vacated in the northeastern pavilion were 

 reoccupied, however, by the chemical and physical departments of the 

 Geological Survey ; but the transfer of the latter from the southwestern 

 pavilion has enabled us to give much better accommodations to the 

 mineralogical, metallurgical, and lithological branches of the- service. 

 The four courts which have been hitherto used merely as work-rooms or 

 for storage have been cleared out and will soon be occupied by exhibits, 

 thus adding over 1C,0U0 square feet to the available space for display. 



Temporary shed in ihc grounds. — The immense amount of work required 

 to properly comply with the directions of Congress in connection with 

 the exhibitions at Cincinnati, Louisville, and New Orleans made it 

 necessary to take a portion of the api)iopriation to erect a temporary 



