REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 25 



E. P. Henderson was abroad from early in May until October 

 1937. Two months were occupied in attendance at the Seventeenth 

 International Geological Congress at Moscow, in visiting important 

 museums, and in collecting minerals in the Kola Peninsula and the 

 Ural Mountains. The remaining time was occupied in Ceylon study- 

 ing the gem deposits of that island, and in Japan in visiting minera- 

 logical institutions and dealers from whom interesting specimens 

 were obtained. Important mineralogical and geological collections 

 were made, but the more important results are the contacts and ex- 

 changes, either made or initiated, by which a large quantity of 

 Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Scottish, and Japanese material will 

 be received. 



As the field expedition of 1937 under C. W. Gilmore, curator of 

 vertebrate paleontology, extended well into the present fiscal year, 

 but brief mention was made of it in last year's report. This expe- 

 dition in the Upper Cretaceous of the North Horn area in central 

 Utah, and in the Triassic of the Petrified Forest region of Arizona, 

 met with most gratifying results. The Utah area was a virgin field 

 so far as professional collecting was concerned, and the results ob- 

 tained fully justified the venture. A good beginning was made in 

 the development of a fauna for the North Horn formation of the 

 Upper Cretaceous, and a small collection of mammalian remains 

 indicated for the first time the presence of Paleocene strata in this 

 geologic section. The finding of a large sauropod dinosaur skeleton 

 in association with Upper Cretaceous dinosaur remains is a discov- 

 ery of much interest and fully establishes the fact that this group 

 of reptiles in North America lived into the Upper Cretaceous. Most 

 of the specimens obtained are new to science. From the Triassic of 

 Arizona important phytosaurian and amphibian remains were col- 

 lected that go far in filling gaps in our permanent collections. The 

 collections obtained filled 13 large cases having a combined weight 

 of nearly 3 tons. George F. Sternberg, as in previous seasons, ren- 

 dered efficient assistance, and George B. Pearce ably assisted as 

 field assistant. 



In May, Dr. C. L. Gazin, assistant curator of vertebrate paleon- 

 tology, left Washington to head an expedition that will continue the 

 explorations in central Utah so auspiciously begun last season. This 

 will be followed by work in the Upper Eocene deposits of the Uinta 

 Basin. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Visitors. — Since the year 1932-33, when a low point was reached 

 presumably as a result of unfavorable economic conditions, the num- 

 ber of visitors to the various Museum buildings has steadilv mounted. 



