﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECRETARY 
  O 
  

  

  sonian 
  library 
  of 
  nearly 
  a 
  million 
  volumes 
  has 
  been 
  distributed 
  to 
  key 
  

   personnel. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  benefit 
  of 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  armed 
  forces, 
  the 
  Museum 
  build- 
  

   ings 
  have 
  been 
  kept 
  open 
  all 
  day 
  Sunday. 
  A 
  set 
  of 
  six 
  colored 
  post 
  

   cards 
  showing 
  striking 
  Museum 
  exhibits 
  was 
  given 
  to 
  servicemen 
  

   entering 
  the 
  Arts 
  and 
  Industries 
  building, 
  where 
  facilities 
  for 
  writing 
  

   and 
  mailing 
  the 
  cards 
  were 
  made 
  available. 
  More 
  than 
  300,000 
  cards 
  

   were 
  given 
  during 
  the 
  year. 
  A 
  small 
  leaflet 
  welcoming 
  service 
  men 
  

   and 
  women 
  to 
  the 
  Institution 
  was 
  also 
  made 
  available; 
  in 
  it 
  is 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  the 
  part 
  played 
  by 
  Army 
  and 
  Navy 
  personnel 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  in 
  

   building 
  up 
  the 
  National 
  collections. 
  At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  a 
  col- 
  

   lector's 
  manual 
  for 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  armed 
  forces 
  was 
  in 
  preparation, 
  

   and 
  a 
  plan 
  was 
  being 
  worked 
  out 
  to 
  provide 
  docents 
  for 
  Museum 
  tours 
  

   for 
  service 
  personnel. 
  

  

  SUMMARY 
  OF 
  THE 
  YEAR'S 
  ACTIVITIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  BRANCHES 
  

   OF 
  THE 
  INSTITUTION 
  

  

  National 
  Museum. 
  — 
  Throughout 
  the 
  year 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  scientific 
  

   staff 
  have 
  been 
  occupied 
  with 
  furnishing 
  technical 
  information 
  and 
  

   carrying 
  on 
  research 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  conduct 
  of 
  the 
  war. 
  The 
  

   Museum 
  buildings 
  have 
  been 
  kept 
  open 
  all 
  day 
  Sundays 
  for 
  the 
  

   benefit 
  of 
  service 
  men 
  and 
  women. 
  The 
  Museum 
  collections 
  were 
  in- 
  

   creased 
  by 
  230,231 
  specimens, 
  bringing 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  catalog 
  

   entries 
  to 
  17,808,471. 
  Outstanding 
  among 
  the 
  new 
  accessions 
  were 
  the 
  

   following: 
  In 
  anthropology, 
  1,443 
  specimens 
  of 
  pottery 
  and 
  figurine 
  

   fragments 
  from 
  various 
  localities 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  Mexico, 
  a 
  

   ceremonial 
  mace 
  of 
  serpentine 
  from 
  Mare, 
  Loyalty 
  Islands, 
  and 
  

   weapons, 
  armor, 
  and 
  musical 
  instruments 
  from 
  the 
  Philippines; 
  in 
  

   biology, 
  a 
  complete 
  skeleton 
  of 
  the 
  African 
  bush 
  elephant, 
  birds 
  from 
  

   New 
  Guinea 
  and 
  Eritrea, 
  the 
  latter 
  a 
  hitherto 
  unrepresented 
  locality, 
  

   two 
  large 
  collections 
  of 
  fishes 
  — 
  one 
  comprising 
  more 
  than 
  50,000 
  

   specimens 
  transferred 
  from 
  the 
  Fish 
  and 
  Wildlife 
  Service, 
  the 
  other 
  

   nearly 
  35,000 
  specimens 
  collected 
  in 
  Venezuela 
  by 
  the 
  curator 
  of 
  fishes, 
  

   and 
  the 
  Frank 
  C. 
  Baker 
  collection 
  of 
  mollusks, 
  comprising 
  10,000 
  spec- 
  

   imens, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  important 
  mollusk 
  collections 
  of 
  North 
  America; 
  in 
  

   geology, 
  the 
  John 
  W. 
  Langsdale 
  collection 
  of 
  minerals, 
  a 
  316-carat 
  star 
  

   sapphire 
  and 
  a 
  54-carat 
  blue 
  Brazilian 
  topaz, 
  five 
  volumes 
  containing 
  

   1,500 
  photomicrographs 
  of 
  the 
  structure 
  in 
  meteoric 
  irons, 
  presented 
  

   by 
  Dr. 
  Stuart 
  H. 
  Perry, 
  associate 
  in 
  mineralogy, 
  and 
  a 
  collection 
  

   of 
  2,000 
  Triassic 
  fossils 
  from 
  Nevada 
  ; 
  in 
  engineering 
  and 
  industries, 
  

   an 
  original 
  truss 
  of 
  an 
  iron 
  railroad 
  bridge 
  built 
  in 
  America 
  in 
  1845, 
  

   two 
  sets 
  of 
  aircraft 
  identification 
  models 
  used 
  by 
  our 
  armed 
  forces, 
  

   and 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  specimens 
  to 
  be 
  used 
  as 
  an 
  exhibit 
  of 
  alternates 
  and 
  

   substitutes 
  developed 
  recently 
  to 
  cope 
  with 
  shortages 
  of 
  war 
  materials; 
  

   in 
  history, 
  the 
  finest 
  accession 
  of 
  firearms, 
  swords, 
  and 
  daggers 
  received 
  

  

  56G766 
  — 
  44 
  2 
  

  

  