REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF LITHOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOLOGY 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



By George P. Merrill, Curator. 



The work of the year, as heretofore, has been almost wholly in the 

 line of the preparation of the exhibition, study, and duplicate series. 

 During July and the early part of August my time was occupied in 

 completing and putting into shape for the printer a hand-book of the 

 building-stone collection This work comprised not only a catalogue 

 of the collection giving the name, color, geological age, locality, size, 

 shape, and name of donor of each individual specimen, but also gave 

 as full an account as the size of the volume would permit of the lead- 

 ing quarries in the United States, the character and quality of their 

 output and their capabilities ; it included also chapters on the structure 

 and composition of rocks, their weathering qualities, methods of quar- 

 rying and dressing, results of pressure tests, and on the selection of 

 stone for any form of building and ornamental work ; the idea being 

 to put in convenient form such facts relative to these stones as should 

 enable any one of ordinary intelligence and education to gain an idea 

 of the various kinds of rocks, their uses and adaptability for structural 

 purposes. The work was finally completed and the manuscript sent the 

 Government Printer early in September. In the final preparation of 

 this work I was assisted by Mr. Hudson, draughtsman. From August 10 

 to September 10, I was absent on my annual vacation. September 26 

 was begun the work of re-arranging the exhibition hall. This occupied 

 our entire attention until the latter part of November, and can not 

 even now be claimed to be completed. The arrangement decided upon 

 involved the moving of nearly every case in the hall as well as nearly 

 every specimen, regardless of size, weight, or shape. 



Early in April the material in the temporary storage sheds was 

 thoroughly overhauled, all superfluous specimens rejected, and the re- 

 mainder taken into the Museum or removed to another temporary stor- 

 age shed at the Armory building. The location of this shed at such a 

 distance is a matter of great inconvenience. Indeed the prevailing 

 condition of affairs affords a very striking illustration of the inad- 

 equacy of the present accommodations for a geological museum. 



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