16 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1918. 



BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. 



The more important items of repair in connection with the natural 

 history building were the refastening of 5,800 lineal feet of copper 

 roof on the east hall, east range, east north range, west north 

 range, and west ranges, the repointing of the coping stones on roof 

 in east court and along the outside walls, and the painting of the 

 exterior woodwork of all the windows and window sills on the 

 ground and third floors, including tliose in the two courts; the lay- 

 ing of cork flooring in the corridors in the east range on third floor 

 and east north and east ranges on ground floor. 



In the arts and industries building the chief items consisted in the 

 painting of walls and ceilings in several halls and ranges, the replac- 

 ing of brick floors in blacksmith shop with concrete, making certain 

 necessary alterations and improvements in the photographic gallery, 

 and the painting with flexible compound and metallic paint the roofs 

 over the four courts. The skylights on the roofs were also over- 

 hauled and repaired and a number of old gutter pipes replaced with 

 new copper. 



In the Smithsonian building the old brick and stone floor in the 

 two main and three small corridors in basement were replaced with 

 new concrete, and the walls and ceilings of the six rooms on the third 

 floor, occupied by the National Herbarium, were pointed up and 

 replastered. 



The power plant in the natural history building was closed down 

 from July 1 to September 5, during which time electric current for 

 light and power was purchased from the Potomac Electric Co. at 2 J 

 cents per kilowatt hour. The chief object in closing the plant was to 

 permit the employees connected therewith to take the greater part of 

 their annual leave and to make the necessary repairs and changes. By 

 this system it is possible to operate the plant with a smaller force 

 than would be necessary if it were run throughout the entire year. 

 Great difficulty was experienced during the year in securing the 

 required amount of coal to keep the plant in operation, and at times 

 there was not sufficient coal in the vault to operate more than a few 

 hours, so that the possibility of closing down the plant was imminent 

 at times. Owing to the great increase in the cost of coal and poor 

 quality of same, although the production of electric current was 

 greater than ever before, the cost was much higher than in the past 

 two or three years. In 1917 the cost per hour was 2.078 cents; in 

 1916, 2.221 cents; and for the past year, 2.795 cents. The total 

 amount of coal used was 3,278 tons, 448 tons of which were paid for 

 by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. 



The ice plant was operated 4,240 hours, producing a total of 321 

 tons, at a cost of $3.73 a ton. The total expense of operating the 



