REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



By George P. Merrill, Curator. 



On July 1, the curator left Washington, in company with Dr. A. 0. 

 Peale, of the U. S. Geological Survey, for three months' field work in 

 Montana and the Yellowstone National Park. The season's work, up to 

 September 1, was mainly in Madison County, though side trips were 

 made to various points in Gallatin and Jefferson Counties. On Sep- 

 tember 3 I left the surveying party at a point some 20 miles from the 

 State line, in Madisou County, and proceeded by team up the Madison 

 River and over Reynolds Pass to Henry's Lake in Idaho, and thence by 

 stage across Tahgee Pass into the Yellowstone Park, remaining there 

 until September 27. The time thus passed was devoted to the collec- 

 tion of materials for the Museum, which will be noticed more fully under 

 the head of accessions. Our thanks are due to both Dr. A. C. Peale 

 and Dr. A. Hague, of the U. S. Geological Survey, without whose as- 

 sistance and direction but a small proportion of the work accomplished 

 would have been possible. 



On returning to Washington (October 1) I was placed in charge of the 

 Department of Metallurgy, the former curator, Mr. F. P. Dewey, having 

 resigned. It having been deemed advisable to combine the Depart- 

 ments of Metallurgy, and Lithology and Physical Geology, this was 

 done, the new Department being the Department of Geology, of which 

 I was appointed curator. 



On taking charge I found the metallurgical portion of the new 

 department in the following condition: 



The material in the exhibition hall (the southwest court) was arranged 

 mainly in the form of two exhibits ; first, a systematic series, compris- 

 ing varieties of all the principal ores of the metals, arranged and 

 labeled to show methods of extraction in accordance with a hand-book 

 prepared by Mr. Dewey and published in this volume. This collection 

 comprises the metallic ores of gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, zinc, tin, 

 antimony, mercury, aluminum, chromium, bismuth, the alloys, and the 

 non-metallic ores, including sulphur, the natural abrading materials, 

 asbestos, the phosphates, fictile substances, graphite, and the hydro- 

 carbon series, such as coals, petroleum, etc. The graphite and hydro- 

 carbon compounds had not at this time been fully arranged or labeled, 



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