REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 29 



Staunton. About 2 weeks were spent in the study, which resulted in 

 interesting information and good collections. 



A second trip extended these studies through the Ordovician rocks 

 of southern Virginia and Tennessee. On this trip the two men were 

 accompanied by Dr. Raymond S. Edmundson, also of the Virginia 

 Geological Survey. The party began work about the middle of Oc- 

 tober near Athens, Tenn., and visited type sections of Ordovician 

 formations in Virginia and Tennessee to see if the Tennessee forma- 

 tions could be recognized in southern Virginia. The party worked 

 from Athens north to Knoxville, then went to Clinton, Tenn., and 

 worked from there to Cumberland Gap in northern Tennessee. From 

 here they traveled for a short distance along the Cumberland Front 

 and on to Natural Bridge, and then to Harrisonburg to tie the studies 

 into the work of the early part of the summer. The work was com- 

 pleted in early November. 



At the end of January 1944 Dr. Alexander Wetmore, with Dr. J. P. 

 E. Morrison, assistant curator of mollusks, as assistant, went to Pan- 

 ama to inaugurate some biological investigations for the War Depart- 

 ment which continued into the fiscal year 1945. Dr. Wetmore returned 

 late in March, leaving Dr. Morrison to continue the work until October. 

 As one result the Museum now has extensive collections of birds, mol- 

 lusks, and reptiles as well as valuable lots in other fields from some 

 islands of the Archipielago de las Perlas that have not been well known 

 previously. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Visitors. — An increase of 197,951 visitors to the Museum buildings 

 was recorded over the previous year, the totals being 1,730,716 for 

 1945 and 1,532,765 for 1944. August 1944 was the month of largest 

 attendance, with 183,394 visitors; July, the second largest, with 177,- 

 065. Records for the four buildings show the following numbers of 

 visitors : Smithsonian Building, 342,762, Arts and Industries Building, 

 674,920; Natural History Building, 531,712; Aircraft Building, 

 181,322. 



Publications. — Twenty Museum publications were issued during the 

 year — 1 Bulletin (pt. 3 of Checklist of the Coleopterous Insects of 

 Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America, by 

 Dr. Richard E. Blackwelder) , 1 Contribution from the National Her- 

 barium, and 18 Proceedings papers. A complete list of these publica- 

 tions is given in the report on publications, appendix 10. 



Special exhibits. — Twelve special exhibits were held during the year 

 under the auspices of various educational, scientific, recreational, and 

 governmental groups. In addition, the department of engineering and 

 industries arranged 24 special displays — 12 in graphic arts and 12 in 

 photography. 



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