86 REPORT OF NATIOliTAL MUSEUM, 1925 



paleontology has made possible the most logical arrangement that has 

 ever been obtained. The bulky nature of the material in vertebrate 

 paleontology has caused these collections to become very crowded, 

 and before they can be properly arranged additional storage space 

 most be provided. The building of a balcony in the storage room is 

 strongly urged. 



Researches. — The head curator has continued his work on meteor- 

 ites with especial reference to newly fallen stones from Forksville, 

 Va., and Johnstown, Colo. He also devoted much time to a his- 

 tory of American geology, and is now engaged in preparing a sys- 

 tematic work on meteorites for publication by the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



As in previous years Mr. Shannon's time has been devoted largely 

 to laboratory investigations. In addition to the regular routine 

 on material received for examination and report and in answering 

 inquiries of visitors, much chemical consulting work has been done 

 for members of other departments of the Museum. The joint 

 work on the minerals of Italian Mountain, Colo., mentioned last 

 year as in progress by Mr. Cross and Mr. Shannon, has been com- 

 pleted, and a beginning made on the description of very interesting 

 zeolites from the Columbia basalt at Ritter Hot Springs, Oreg., 

 assembled by D. F. Hewett, of the United States Geological Survey 

 and transmitted to the Museum for investigation. Szaibelyite from 

 the second known locality, Lincoln County, Nev., has been investi- 

 gated in collaboration with Prof. ^T. L. Gillson, of the Massachusetts 

 Institute of Technology, and work in collaboration with Prof. E. 

 S. Larsen has been continued, particularly that on the alteration 

 products of variscite from Utah. One of the most extensive pieces 

 of work of the year has been the study, in collaboration with C. S. 

 Ross, of the clay minerals, particularly the bentonites. This work 

 has had very gratifying results and has gone along way toward 

 giving an understanding of the nature and composition of the min- 

 erals of the clay group, one of the last natural groups to yield to 

 modern research methods. The work has further furnished totally 

 unexpected data on the nature of the phenomenon of adsorption 

 and the so-called colloidal properties, on the nature and operation 

 of crystal-building forces, on the sodium chloride content of the 

 ocean, and the origin of certain properties in soils. 



In addition to the above there has been carried on a chemical 

 investigation of the meteoric mineral merrillite, and analyses of 

 the pyroxene and feldspar of the Johnstown, Colo., stone; an a^- 

 alysis of a stony meteorite left unstudied by the late Dr. Thomas 

 L. Watson ; the analysis of an iron belonging to Harvard Uni- 

 versity ; and a number of minor qualitative tests. 



