84 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1924 



the cases above these compartments the duplicates of fossil inver- 

 tebrates have been stored, making them for the first time readily- 

 accessible. Doctor Bassler was assisted in this work by Miss Beach 

 and Mr. Pohl, aids in the division. Dr. T. W. Stanton and his as- 

 sistants have cared for the Mesozoic collections as usual, and Dr. 

 W. H. Dall has given careful attention to the arrangement and pres- 

 ervation of the Cenozoic groups. 



Through the efforts of Dr. F. H. Knowlton, assisted by T. E. 

 Williard, the Mesozoic plants in the attic have been condensed and 

 rearranged, and a complete card index made. This index is by col- 

 lectors, localities, States, and formations, so that this part of the 

 series is most accessible. The fossil plants forming a part of the 

 Lacoe collection have also been installed under Doctor Knowlton's 

 direction. These included particularly Triassic plants from the 

 Richmond, Va., coal field, plants from the Dakota sandstone of 

 Kansas, the Miocene lake beds of Florissant, Colo., and the Swiss 

 Miocene, the last, not before represented in the collection. 



In Paleozoic paleobotany the principal work of the jea,r was the 

 preparation by Erwin R. Pohl of about 75 drawers of Devonian 

 and Mississippian black shales holding plant and animal remains. 



The routine of the division included the preparation of some 

 extensive exchanges. 



ThejDreparators in the division of vertebrate paleontology have, 

 with slight interruptions, been continuously engaged in the prepara- 

 tion of the Diplodocus skeleton. The work progresses slowly on 

 account of the very refractory nature of the matrix in which the 

 bones are imbedded, but substantial progress has been made, 10 of 

 the 34 boxes having been opened and 7 of these fully worked up. 



With the assistance of Remington Kellogg, of the Biological 

 Survey, the collection of fossil cetacean remains was practically re- 

 arranged. Some progress was also made in bringing about a better 

 arrangement of the study collections of fossil reptiles and birds. 



Dr. J. W. Gidley reports some progress toward a better installa- 

 tion of the study collections of fossil mammals but finds the work 

 necessarily slow, partly because of the lack of clerical help. 



The question of the extension of storage space in this division is 

 one that must shortly come up for consideration. The large size 

 of much of the material renders such facilities as are found satis- 

 factory in other divisons quite inadequate. 



Miss Margaret Moodey has looked after the records of the col- 

 lections for all divisions of the department Aside from the im- 

 mediate duties of her position as recorder, she has had the entire 

 responsibility and care of the collection of cut gems, and in con- 

 nection with this has been called upon to answer numerous inquiries 



