REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 43 



BUILDINGS AND EQUIPIVIENT 



The various buildings of the Museum have been kept in good con- 

 dition throughout the year through minor repairs, which have con- 

 sisted largely in painting Avails, ceilings, and floors, repairing cracks 

 in plaster and cement surfaces, painting tin gutters and roofs, and 

 work of a similar character. In the Arts and Industries Building 

 new floors were laid in a few of the rooms and the ventilation im- 

 proved. 



In the Smithsonian Building it was necessary to replace with 

 beaded sheets the entire plaster ceiling of the main hall on the third 

 floor, occupied by the Museum's division of plants. The work was 

 done partly by contract and partly by the Museum force. 



Under a special appropriation for the purpose, four modern fire 

 hydrants were installed under the direction of the District Commis- 

 sioners in the Smithsonian Park. 



The cost of heating for the year was considerably less than during 

 the previous year, due partly to the lower cost of coal and partly to 

 the fact that for the first time in many years it was possible to 

 secure coal from the New liiver fields, which is better adapted to the 

 heating apparatus. During the year, 3,292 tons of bituminous and 

 15.5 tons of anthracite coal were used. The total electric current 

 generated during the year was 476,709 kilowatt-hours, at a total cost 

 of 2.362 cents per kilowatt-hour, including labor, material, interest, 

 and depreciation on the plant. 



A total of 346.3 tons of ice were produced during the year at a 

 cost of $2,309 per ton. A new compressor lias been purchased which, 

 with increase in the size of the condenser made during the year, will 

 increase the capacity of the ice machine from 2 to 2i^ tons per day. 

 Even with the cost of the new compressor included, the cost per ton 

 of ice will be under the wholesale price paid for ice by the Govern- 

 ment. 



During the year 18 exhibition cases and bases and 127 pieces of 

 storage, laboratory, office, and other furniture were acquired by 

 purchase and construction. Of the storage cases 11 were purchased 

 and 116 built in the Museum shops, 



MEETINGS AND RECEPTIONS 



The Department of Agriculture was granted the use of the audi- 

 torium on October 27, 28, and 31 for a series of lectures by Dr. 

 Vernon H. Blackman, of the Imperial College of Science and Tech- 

 nology in London, and on January 26 for a lecture on Agricultural 

 Kesearch and the Community, by Sir Daniel Hall, scientific adviser 



