i8 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 



/^ 



Explorations for paleontological material were limited during 

 1919 to two short field trips by Dr. R. S. Bassler, Curator of Paleon- 

 tology, who continued the work of former years in securing certain 

 large showy specimens of fossils and rocks required for the exhibi- 

 tion series. Dr. Bassler spent a portion of June in southeastern 

 Indiana, first proceeding to the locality where at the end of the field 

 season of 1918 he had cached for safe keeping, because of inability 

 to secure help in getting them to a freight station, several large 

 exhibition slabs crowded with brachiopod shells. These slabs were 



Fig. 18. — Fossiliferous strata of the Richmond formation in south- 

 eastern Indiana. The slab indicated is now on exhiljition at the National 

 Museum. Photograph by Bassler. 



found undisturbed, but transportation conditions proved equally bad 

 as in the summer before and it became necessary to employ the 

 primitive method shown in figure 17. P.y the use of burlap covering 

 and an abundant supply of weeds for padding, each slab was finally 

 slid along the rails for a considerable distance to the nearest station. 

 The same area in Indiana, namely, the vicinity of Weisburg where 

 the early Silurian rocks are well exjiosed. was then explored for fur- 

 ther desirable exhibition specimens. Water worn slabs crowded 

 with animal and seaweed remains are al)un(lant in all the creeks of 



