REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 1G3 



one of Becker's small prescriptiou balances, to carry oue hundred 

 grammes and turn with one milligramme (this balance is exceedingly 

 handy for proximate weighings, fluxes, &c.)', one pulp scale, for weigh- 

 ing out assay charges, with a set of Chandler's assay ton weights ; and 

 one assay balance for buttons, showing one one-hundreth of a milli- 

 gramme. All of the balances are Becker & Son's make. In addition 

 to the above, the laboratory also possesses one Jolly's balance, for 

 specific gravity determination. 



North of the laboratory, and separated from it by a hall-waj', is the 

 assay room, D. The permanent fittings here are, first, one small Hibb's 

 furnace, «, with a 4 by 10 inch muffle; a large Battersea muffle furnace, 

 b, with a 6 by 14 inch muffle, and a crucible furnace, c. 



In addition to the assay furnace, the room also contains the ajjparatus 

 for furnishing distilled water and a large sand bath, d. It is the desire 

 of the chemist and the intention of the Director of the Museum to add 

 to the equipment some form of crusher, probably one of Blake's excel- 

 lent laboratory crushers, and if possible some kind of a grinding ma- 

 chine ; these will if possible be driven b}' steam jiower, supplied from 

 the engine-room. 



On the third floor is a large room the full size of the pavilion, as it 

 is called, about 37 feet square, at present used only as a storage room. 

 It is the intention of the Director to fit up this room as a qualitative 

 laboratory. The work of the Institution consists at present largely in 

 the qualitative examination and determination of minerals and ores, 

 received from almost every part of the United States, and often wrongly 

 named, if named at all, by the collectors. It is often very inconvenient 

 to carry on work of that kind in a room where quantitative work is in 

 progress, and this room, when fitted up, might also be used as a labor- 

 atory for special research. 



It will be seen that with one or two exceptions the laboratory is pretty 

 well fitted up and equipped for two chemists; the supply of glass and 

 porcelain ware is amply sufficient; one of the exceptions is in the plati- 

 num ware and another in the lack of another analytical balance. There 

 are however two reasons for this defect ; one the lack of any definite 

 appropriation for fitting up a laboratory, and, second, the fact that the 

 Superintendent of the Tenth Census has signified his intention to de- 

 posit the platinum ware and balances of the Ne\\'port laboratory in the 

 Museum, to be used in any work connected with the Census, as the only 

 work done besides the routine work of the Institution is done in connec- 

 tion with the Census of the building stones of the United States. This 

 seems eminently proper, and this addition will supply all the existing 

 deficiencies, giving the laboratory an especially large and valuable sup- 

 ply of platinum ware. The only fault that can be found with the pres- 

 ent quarters is the insufficiency of means for proper ventilation ; the 

 fume chamber is not large enough, and the flue used is hardly large 

 enough to exhaust it properly. Unfortunately, this is a case that is hard 



