REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 5 
collection from the same country numbering 3,281 specimens, more 
than 10,000 mosquito specimens from the sanitary and medical corps 
of the armed forces, a molluscan collection of 51,000 Jamaican Neri- 
tidae, the valuable Chickering herbarium of 10,550 plant specimens, 
and the Albert Mann diatom collection, which with the other material 
on hand in this field makes the Museum diatom collection one of the 
most important in the world; in geology, a number of important gems 
and minerals obtained through the Roebling, Chamberlain, and Can- 
field funds, 7 new meteorites, 6 of them undescribed falls, and 500 
specimens of rare Paleozoic fossils collected by the curator during field 
work in Mexico; in engineering, a jeep, the prototype of these vehicles 
made famous by World War II, and a Winton automobile of 1903, the 
first automobile to be driven across the United States; in history, a 
number of Army and Navy medals and decorations of types estab- 
lished during the present war. The few expeditions that were in the 
field during the year were related directly or indirectly to the war. 
Visitors for the year numbered 1,532,765, an increase of 177,496 over 
last year; approximately 40 percent were service personnel. The 
Museum published an Annual Report, 3 Bulletins, 1 Contribution from 
the National Herbarium, and 14 Proceedings papers. Staff changes 
included the loss by death of the curator of invertebrate paleontology, 
Dr. Charles E. Resser; Dr. G. Arthur Cooper was appointed curator 
to succeed him. 
National Gallery of Art.—Visitors to the Gallery totaled 2,060,071 
for the year, the largest attendance since its opening. Thirty percent 
of the visitors were men and women in the armed services. Features 
of particular interest to service personnel were the Servicemen’s 
Room, which provides a place of relaxation for them, the Sunday 
. evening concerts, and the special exhibitions. The Board of Trustees 
was directed by the Treasury Department to assume custodianship of 
all works of art and exhibition material sent to this country for various 
exhibitions by the former French Government, and several officers 
of the Gallery were appointed to serve as officers of the American Com- 
mission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Mon- 
uments in War Areas, the headquarters of which are located in the 
Gallery building. In March 1944, at the request of the State De- 
partment, the Gallery established the Inter-American Office to act 
as the official Government clearinghouse for the exchange of informa- 
tion concerning art activites in the American republics. The Gallery 
accepted a number of gifts of paintings, prints, and drawings, in- 
cluding 8 paintings and 196 prints and drawings from Lessing J. 
Rosenwald. Among the 18 special exhibitions held during the year 
were a number relating to war subjects. More than 72,000 people 
attended the various programs conducted by the Gallery’s educational 
