44 ANNUAL. REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



cases were built to fit a special octagonal room in the Philadelphi'a 

 Mint. They consisted of four wall cases, of three sections each, 

 built to fit the angular spaces, and a central case — a double-faced 

 polygon of 14 units, 'access to the interior fronts of which is through 

 the space which would have formed a fifteenth unit had the polygo- 

 nal construction been completed. By shifting the historical col- 

 lection, the west north range of the Arts and Industries Building 

 was assigned to the collection from the mint, together with other 

 similar material already in the custody of the Museum. The dis- 

 mantling of the highly finished, many angled c'ases in Philadelphia 

 and their reerection here reflect great credit upon the Museum cab- 

 inetmakers and their associates in the undertaking. 



There were constructed in the Museum workshops also 13 exhibi- 

 tion cases and bases and 119 pieces of storage 'and laboratory furni- 

 ture. In addition 10 items of storage, laboratory, office, and other 

 furniture were procured by contract. 



MEETINGS AND RECEPTIONS 



The National Museum is prevented by its limited maintenance 

 funds from providing public lectures, as it would like to do, on the 

 many subjects in which it is interested. It is always ready, how- 

 ever, to assist as far as possible other governmental, scientific, and 

 local organizations which so disseminate knowledge. 



The auditorium and council rooms served for 105 meetings during 

 the year, all of which were as usual open to the public. These 

 gatherings included the National Conference on Outdoor Kecrea- 

 tion called by President Coolidge, which met in the Museum from 

 May 22 to 24; the nineteenth annual meeting of the American As- 

 sociation of Museums, May 10 to 13; the twenty-third annual con- 

 vention of the National Association of Postmasters, October 10-12; 

 one session on September 3 of the twenty- fourth annual convention 

 of the United National Association of Post Office clerks; the meet- 

 ing of the Northern Nut Growers Association, September 26-28; 

 the meeting of adjutants general of the National Guard of each 

 State, under the auspices of the Militia Bureau, War Department ; 

 two motion-picture exhibitions by the Public Health Service; a 

 three-day plant quarantine conference of State and Federal repre- 

 sentatives and an all-day conference on the Japanese beetle and the 

 Almeria grape, both under the Federal Horticultural Board ; a con- 

 ference on conservation of the prong-horned antelope, under the 

 Biological Survey; two meetings with addresses before employees 

 of the Forest Service; a motion-picture exhibition by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and a lecture by the Secretary of Agriculture 

 before the American Committee on the International Institute of 

 Agriculture; one session of the National Conference on Vocational 



