REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 



BUILDINGS. 



At the beginning of the last fiscal year, work on the new building for the 

 Museum had progressed to the extent of completing the basement walls and 

 piers and the steel framework and brick arches resting upon them, except at 

 the south and north pavilions. The court walls of the main story had also been 

 started. From that time onward the construction of the building would have 

 advanced more rapidly but for delays in the delivery of the granite. Instead, 

 therefore, of being ready for the roofs at the end of the fiscal year, as had been 

 expected, the outer walls have been carried only to the height of the lintels at 

 the top of the second story on the eastern section of the building, and not so high 

 on the western section. The two entrance pavilions have only reached the top 

 of the basement floor, but the steel work and arches of the second floor are in 

 place and the basement lecture hall has been inclosed and partly vaulted and 

 tiled. With the receipt of the final shipment of the white Bethel granite all 

 troubles in the matter of construction should be ended, as there have been no 

 delays in the fulfillment of all other contracts for supplies, and the stone for the 

 upper story has been on hand for several months. 



The retardation in the erection of this building has rendered difficult the 

 administration of the Museum, since the overcrowding of the present buildings 

 and outside rented quarters by the immense and invaluable collections has 

 introduced several elements of danger which can only be obviated by the 

 occupancy of the new structure. 



The rebuilding of the roofs of the present Museum building, without serious 

 derangement of the collections, was successfully continued. Contracts have been 

 made for the replacement of four additional roofs during the new year, leaving 

 only the roof of the central rotunda to be provided for thereafter. 



Progress was also made in the isolation of the several exhibition halls with 

 the view of obtaining greater fire protection, this work consisting in the filling 

 in of the large arched openings between the halls with fireproof materials, a 

 plan which should be continued each year to the extent possible with the funds 

 available. 



ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION. 



The number of accessions received during the year, not including the subject 

 of the fine arts, was 1,398, comprising a total of about 250,000 specimens, of 

 which nearly 4,000 were anthropological, 145,000 biological, and over 100,000 

 geological and paleontological. 



The principal additions in ethnology came from the Congo region of Africa 

 and the Philippine Islands. Among the more notable smaller ones were baskets 

 and lace of Malacca workmanship, rare Chilcootin baskets, and examples of 

 rich old embroideries. The most important accessions in prehistoric archeology 

 comprised several hundred implements, vessels, examples of fabrics and basket 

 work, and skeletal remains, obtained during excavations at Casa Grande, Ari- 

 zona, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, and a large number 

 of earthenware and stone objects of various kinds and uses from Panama, Costa 

 Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the State of Tennessee. Of European 

 origin were stone implements and fragments of Romano-British urns from near 

 Norfolk, England, and flint implements from La Quina, France. Examples of 

 Greco-Egyptian papyri and other interesting objects were secured for the di- 

 vision of historic archeology. The additions in physical anthropology consisted 

 chiefly of a large series illustrating the principal types of normal variations in 

 the human skeleton, a number of skulls of the extinct Huron Indians, and many 

 specimens of the brains of various animals prepared for comparative purposes. 



