REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 23 



tion of the ground was started. The building of the foundations will 

 follow next, and should be completed before winter. 



The very unsatisfactory condition of the roof of the present Museum 

 building- has been repeatedly referred to, and attention has also been 

 called to the fact that any repairs which can now be made will be 

 essentially temporary, since the supporting iron framework over the 

 main halls lacks sufficient strength, and the slate covering can not be 

 made entirely tight, whereby leaks occur where least expected, damag- 

 ing the walls and at times even defacing the cases. The difficulty with the 

 slate results largely from the contraction and expansion of the frame- 

 work, due to changes in temperature, and heavy falls of snow have also 

 caused parts of the iron structure to buckle. 



The faulty character of the roof is undoubtedly due to the cheap 

 manner in which it was originally constructed. The only remedy 

 seems to be the substitution of a new roof, at least over the large halls, 

 courts, and rotunda. Such an extensive repair is impracticable at this 

 time, or until the new building is finished, as there is no place in 

 which the collections could be stored. In the meantime, however, with 

 the aid of experts, strong efforts are being made to render the roofs 

 effective for a few years longer without the necessity for constant and 

 unavailing attention. The work was started during last year and will 

 be continued during the present one. 



The area of tin rooting around the rotunda and over the eight 

 ranges, which had greatly deteriorated, was thoroughly repaired, 

 all imperfect tin being replaced and many seams resoldered. The 

 rotunda roof was extended down over the old top gutters and new 

 overhanging gutters, and down spouts were added. The slate roof 

 over the east hall was. as an experiment, covered with a coating of 

 Bermuda asphalt, burlap, and slag, intended to till the interspaces 

 between the slates and to present an unbroken surface for carrying off 

 the water. Up to the time of writing, this expedient seems to have 

 answered its purpose well, and should it continue to do so, the other 

 slate roofs will be treated in tin same way. The work about the roof 

 has also included repairs to the skylights and to clear-story and rotunda 

 windows, the insertion of ventilator frames in many of these, and the 

 addition of skylights over two of the ranges, made necessary by the 

 construction of galleries. 



The dilapidated platform in front of the main entrance has been 

 replaced with one of mosaic, consisting of large irregular marble frag- 

 ments, and the steps and side coping have been reset. 



The repairs in the interior of the Museum building have been chiefly 

 of a minor character, though in the aggregate extensive. They have 

 related mainly to the floors and to the walls and ceilings. The sten- 

 ciling of the rotunda walls, which had been deferred until the roof of 



