38 REPOKT OF THE SECRETARY. 



coverings, gutters, etc., do not present serious difficulties, though requiring exten- 

 sive renovation. Experiments on the slate, however, have led to the trial of a cov- 

 ering of asphalt, burlap, and slag, which has thus far resulted so favorably that it is 

 now proposed to treat all the slate roofs in this manner. 



The archa-ological exhibition hall, the large upper room in the Smithsonian build- 

 ing, which has been closed for some time on account of the extensive loosening and 

 fall of idaster, has been entirely repaired and painted during the past year, but its 

 opening to the public must l^e deferred for a while longer, or until its collections 

 have been reinstalled. Many other repairs in both buildings have been made during 

 the year, but they have been chiefly of a minor character. 



The number of specimen cases constructed has amounted to 212, and of specimen 

 drawers to 3,378, mainly to accommodate the extensive accessions of the year, derived 

 in greater part from Government scientific surveys. The fittings of all kinds for the 

 cases and for the mounting of specimens have called for a large amount of labor and 

 material. 



The pair of high-pressure steam boilers installed in the summer of 1901 for the 

 heating of the two main buildings and the smaller adjacent buildings has continued 

 to give entire satisfaction. The efficiency of the lire-protective system has been 

 thoroughly tested during the year, with the result that some of the extinguishers of 

 old pattern have been replaced by others of more modern make. 



Organization and staff.— A few changes in the organization of the Museum have 

 been made as follows: 



The title of the "Division of Religions" has been changed to "Division of Historic 

 Religions," with Dr. Cyrus Adler as honorary curator, and the former "Section of 

 Historic Religious Ceremonials" has been abolished. That of the "Division of His- 

 tory and Biography" has been changed to "Division of History," with Mr. A. 

 Howard Clark as honorary curator and Mr. Paul E. Beckwith as assistant curator, 

 the "Section of American History" being omitted. The "Section of Electricity" 

 has been abolished. 



Mr. William H. Holmes, formerly head curator of the Department of Anthropology, 

 but now Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, has accepted the position of 

 honorary curator of the Division of Prehistoric Archeology, and Mr. J. D. McGuire 

 that of collaborator in the same division. Other appointments have been as follows: 

 Dr. Edward L. Greene, formerly professor of botany in the Catholic University of 

 America, as associate in botany; Mr. Paul Brockett as custodian of the Section of 

 Graphic Arts; Mr. AV^alter L. Hahn as aid in the Division of Mammals, and Mr. J. S. 

 Goldsmith as superintendent of construction and labor, being a part of the service 

 performed by the late Dr. J. E. Watkins, whose lamented death occurred on August 

 11, 1903. 



A number of members of the scientific staff have severed their connection with the 

 Museum, all at their own volition, to accept positions at higher compensation else- 

 where. Among these were Mr. F. A. Lucas, curator of Comparative Anatomy, who 

 has become curator in chief of the museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and 

 Sciences; Mr. Louis Pollard, assistant curator in the Division of Plants; Mr. Rolla P. 

 Currie, aid in the Division of Insects; and Mr. W. C. Phalen, aid, and Mr. R. S. Bassler 

 and Mr. Alvan Stewart, jireparators, in the Department of Geology. 



It may also be mentioned in this connection that Mr. Charles Schuchert, assistant 

 curator of Stratigraphic Paleontology, attended the Ninth International Geological 

 Congress, held at Vienna from August 20 to 27, 1903, as the representative of the 

 Smithsonian Institution and the Museum; while in the same capacity Mr. Leonhard 

 Stejneger, curator of Reptiles, Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, jr., assistant curator of Mammals, 

 and Dr. C. W. Stiles, custodian of Helminthological Collections, will be present at 

 the Sixth Internati<jnal Congress of Zoology at Berne during August of this year, 

 and Mr. William II. Holmes at the Congress of Americanists to be held at Stuttgart 



