REPORT OF ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 



31 



tlu' r. S. Geological Survey. Mr. Thomas IMeaiis, of the Division of 

 Soils, Depaitmeiit ol" Aiii'icultuie, was engajjed for a short time in the 

 study of micro-chemical methods for the determination of minerals, and 

 pi . A. S. Eakle, Washington, I). C, spent some time in an examina 

 tion of the toiia/. crystals. Dr. Eakle has i)rei)ared a paper embodying 

 the results of his studies, which will be published in the Proceedings 

 of the Museum. 



>rr. E. W. Nelson, Dr. W. J. Hoffman, and Dr. J. Walter Fewkes 

 have carried on inv<!stigations of much importance in the department 

 of ethnology. ^Ir, Nelson was engaged in the preparation of a mono 

 grai»h of the material collected by himself in Alaska some years ago; 

 Dr. llotfman has given his time to the pictographic work of the 

 Eskimo, and Dr. Fewkes has been engaged in the preparation of an 

 elaborate report upon the material which he recently collected in Ari- 

 zona. ^Ir. J. 1). McGuire, of Ellicott City, IMaryland, has continued 

 his work on aboriginal pipes. Mr. Charles Richards Dodge, of the 

 Department of Agriculture, studied the tiber fabric from Lake Tan- 

 ganyika, Central Africa, and Miss Georgie Leonard, of Washington, 

 studied various South American antiquities. Countess Louise Koss, of 

 the German embassy, and Miss Tuckerman, of Washington, made 

 numerous visits to the Museum iu connection with certain archa'olog- 

 ical studies. The Washington relics, and other portions of the histor- 

 ical collections, have been frequently examined by students of history. 

 Several persons have visited the department of oriental anti(]uities in 

 order to acquire special information. 



VISITORS. 



The following table sliows the number of visitors to the Museum and 

 Smithsonian buildings for each mouth of the fiscal year ending June 

 30, 1897 : 



Vear niid montli. 



1896. 



•Inly 



August 



Sej)teuiber 



Oi'toher 



Novpinber 



DeccinbcT 



1897. 



January 



February 



Marcb 



April 



May , 



Juni' 



Total 



Approxiiuate daily average on a basis oC 313 days in tbe year 



Museum i 



Smithso- 



i..,ii.):.... iiiaii 

 buildmg. |,uii^i„j,. 



031 

 817 

 879 

 800 

 637 

 218 



,298 

 ,049 

 ,483 

 ,504 

 ,383 

 ,457 



,606 

 733 



24, 361 

 5,149 

 6,801 

 6, Gil 

 5,074 

 5, 762 



5,126 

 5,600 



25, 740 

 10. 835 



8, 127 

 6,923 



115,709 

 370 



