238 REPORT OF NATIONAL MaSEUM, 1884. 



Geological Surveys that existed prior to the present organization. The 

 records of a great deal of the latter material were iu a deplorable con- 

 dition, and the specimens themselves had in many cases been so abused 

 as to be completely worthless. 



To the Centennial Exhibition, the Tenth Census, and the various Geo- 

 logical Surveys the department is largeTy indebted for whatever ma- 

 terial it possessed prior to 1882. The time since the reorganization 

 of the department and its assignment to myself has been too short for 

 anything more than a beginning to be made. What work has actu- 

 ally been accomplished has already been noted. 



The imjierative need of the department is a larger permanent work- 

 ing force. The confusion which was found to exist among the old col- 

 lections is due entirely to the fact that sufficient time and care were not 

 given to the preservation of the identity of the material. It is not 

 enough that the curator knows, however thoroughly, the collection 

 under his care, but the facts in regard to each and every specimen 

 should be so placed on record that its identity can never again be lost, 

 however often the administrative force of the department may be 

 changed. There is probably no department of the Museum in which 

 the value of material depends more upon its correct identification and 

 localization. The most valuable material of the collection to day may 

 to-morrow become totally worthless from no other cause than an uncer- 

 tainty arising as to the exact source from which it was obtained. 



The very considerable amount of petrographical work being at the 

 present time carried on in this country renders it extremely important 

 that somewhere should be preserved a representative series of the more 

 important rocks described, either the types themselves or exact du- 

 plicates of the same. The value of such a collection, both for present 

 and future reference, cannot be overestimated, especially when we con- 

 sider the prevailing unsatisfactory system of rock classification and no- 

 menclature. While each worker, it is true, now makes collections for 

 his own use, these are necessarily limited and so widely scattered as 

 to be practically inaccessible to the majority of workers. A very 

 small outlay yearly will allow the gathering together of representative 

 specimens of the greater projjortion of this material in the National Mu- 

 seum, where it will be accessible for reference and stud}^ to all responsi- 

 ble parties, and also be secure from destruction by fire or other agencies. 

 The recent destruction of the entire collection of Professor Irving by 

 the burning of the buildings of the university at Madison, Wis., is in 

 itself sufficient argument in favor of such an undertaking. 



