REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY 

 By Geoege P. Merrill, Head Curator 



The period covered by the present report is notable on account of 

 the unusual amount and value of the material received for both 

 exhibition and study purposes, the increment in specimens being far 

 beyond that for many years past, if not in the history of the depart- 

 ment. The paleontological collections have been the chief benefici- 

 aries, although, while the amount is small by comparison, much of 

 interest has been received in the divisions of economic geology and 

 mineralogy. In exhibition value, a Diplodocus, secured from the 

 Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, will far exceed anything 

 acquired in recent years, while the Edgar E. Teller and George M. 

 Austin collections of fossils add material of great value to the study 

 series. Noteworthy also is the petrographic reference series of rocks 

 transferred by the United States Geological Survey. These will all 

 be mentioned in detail. 



Reports from all divisions show satisfactory progress in the care 

 of the collections. Comparatively few changes are to be noted in the 

 exhibits since these have now reached a point where little that is new 

 can be secured without the expenditure of considerable sums of 

 money. Expansion of the study series to accommodate new acquisi- 

 tions has occupied much of the time of the curators and their assist- 

 ants. Research work, however, has progressed, and such explorations 

 as were undertaken yielded satisfactory results. 



Accessions. — An increase over last year is shown in number of 

 accessions and of specimens received. Those of the present year are 

 tabulated below : 



Division 



Speci- 

 mens 



Geology, systematic and applied 



Mineralogy and petrology 



Invertebrate paleontology 



Vertebrate paleontology 



Paleobotany 



Total 



2,434 



2,608 



154, 720 



43 



116 



159, 921 



The totals for last year were 196 accessions covering an estimated 

 total of 36,698 specimens. 



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