﻿BEPOKT 
  OF 
  THE 
  SECRETARY 
  9 
  

  

  Giraffes, 
  however, 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  capture. 
  A 
  young 
  

   one 
  was 
  finally 
  separated 
  from 
  the 
  herd 
  and 
  caught, 
  but 
  unfortunately 
  

   died 
  from 
  pneumonia 
  soon 
  after. 
  A 
  pair 
  was 
  later 
  obtained, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  from 
  the 
  Sudan 
  Government. 
  The 
  expedition 
  embarked 
  from 
  

   Dar-es-Salaam 
  with 
  about 
  1,700 
  live 
  animals, 
  nearly 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  

   were 
  safely 
  transported 
  over 
  the 
  long 
  journey 
  to 
  Washington. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  by 
  far 
  the 
  largest 
  single 
  collection 
  ever 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  

   National 
  Zoological 
  Park, 
  and 
  greatly 
  increases 
  the 
  value 
  and 
  popular 
  

   interest 
  of 
  the 
  park's 
  animal 
  exhibits. 
  

  

  COIiLECTING 
  MICROrOSSILS 
  IN 
  EUROPE 
  

  

  Dr. 
  R. 
  S. 
  Bassler, 
  curator 
  of 
  paleontology 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Museum, 
  

   spent 
  August 
  and 
  September, 
  1926, 
  in 
  collecting 
  microfossils 
  in 
  

   France 
  and 
  Germany 
  and 
  in 
  studying 
  the 
  geology 
  of 
  various 
  classic 
  

   localities 
  in 
  those 
  countries. 
  Microfossils 
  have 
  proved 
  to 
  be' 
  of 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  value 
  in 
  the 
  determination 
  of 
  underground 
  geological 
  struc- 
  

   ture, 
  particularly 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  location 
  of 
  oil. 
  The 
  National 
  

   Museum 
  collections 
  are 
  rich 
  in 
  fossil 
  micro-organisms 
  from 
  the 
  Ameri- 
  

   can 
  Mesozoic 
  and 
  Cenozoic 
  rocks, 
  but 
  descriptions 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  these 
  

   have 
  never 
  been 
  published 
  because 
  their 
  relationship 
  to 
  European 
  

   species 
  was 
  not 
  clear. 
  To 
  obtain 
  the 
  needed 
  European 
  material 
  for 
  

   comparison 
  was 
  the 
  primary 
  purpose 
  of 
  Doctor 
  Bassler's 
  expedition. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  two 
  weeks 
  were 
  spent 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  Dr. 
  Ferdinand 
  

   Canu, 
  of 
  Versailles, 
  the 
  most 
  eminent 
  student 
  of 
  microfossils 
  on 
  the 
  

   Continent, 
  who 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  joint 
  author 
  with 
  Doctor 
  Bassler 
  of 
  

   several 
  large 
  publications 
  on 
  the 
  American 
  fossil 
  bryozoa. 
  At 
  this 
  

   time 
  Doctor 
  Canu 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  Museum 
  his 
  entire 
  collection 
  of 
  

   French 
  Cenozoic 
  and 
  Mesozoic 
  fossils, 
  containing 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   thousand 
  specimens 
  fully 
  labeled 
  as 
  to 
  horizon 
  and 
  locality. 
  

  

  Doctor 
  Bassler 
  proceeded 
  to 
  the 
  Rhine 
  Valley, 
  where 
  he 
  studied 
  in 
  

   succession 
  the 
  broad 
  plain 
  around 
  Strassburg, 
  the 
  valley 
  to 
  Mainz, 
  

   and 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Main 
  River 
  from 
  Mainz 
  to 
  Frankfort. 
  In 
  the 
  

   Rhine 
  gorge 
  a 
  first-hand 
  Imowledge 
  was 
  obtained 
  of 
  the 
  Devonian 
  

   stratigraphy 
  of 
  this 
  classic 
  area 
  and 
  important 
  collections 
  of 
  De- 
  

   vonian 
  fossils 
  were 
  secured. 
  

  

  Various 
  regions 
  in 
  Germany 
  were 
  studied 
  with 
  profit 
  both 
  in 
  the 
  

   amount 
  of 
  good 
  study 
  material 
  secured 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  information, 
  re- 
  

   garding 
  stratigraphic 
  relationships. 
  The 
  classic 
  Mesozoic 
  region 
  

   north 
  of 
  the 
  Hartz 
  Mountains 
  was 
  visited 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  Mr. 
  

   Ehrhard 
  Voigt, 
  an 
  enthusiastic 
  student 
  of 
  microfossils 
  at 
  Dessau, 
  

   Germany. 
  Mr. 
  Voigt 
  also 
  accompanied 
  Doctor 
  Bassler 
  to 
  other 
  

   regions 
  celebrated 
  in 
  German 
  stratigraphy, 
  particularly 
  the 
  potash 
  

   areas 
  around 
  Stassfurt, 
  the 
  drift 
  region 
  around 
  Dessau, 
  and 
  other 
  

   regions 
  to 
  the 
  north, 
  and 
  finally 
  to 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Riigen 
  on 
  the 
  Baltic. 
  

  

  