Care of Building 45 



breaking off large pieces of the stone and causing considerable 

 damage. The President has made application to the Park De- 

 partment for the issue of Special Revenue Bonds of $2,500 to 

 make the necessary repairs. 



The work of the Heating and Lighting Department has been 



as usual extremely efficient and economical, though with the 



price of coal as it has been and is, the actual cost 



L'*ht ,n tf and °^ °P era ^ n S * s naturally greater than in 191 7. It 



may be noted that the price of coal has exactly 



doubled since 19 14 and that wages have greatly increased. 



The work of utilizing the new types of lamps to improve the 

 lighting of the exhibition halls has proceeded as rapidly as pos- 

 sible without special appropriation for either material or ad- 

 ditional assistance, and the close of the year finds the lighting 

 of the North Pacific Hall vastly improved by the introduction 

 of indirect lighting by means of high power nitrogen lamps. 



The improvements effected in lamps and methods are shown 

 by the fact that without any addition to engine room equipment 

 and force it is now possible to illuminate the entire building at 

 one time — something impossible previously. Much time and 

 labor are involved in the lighting of the habitat groups, such as 

 the Florida, Lemur and Wolf Groups, for each new group is 

 a problem in itself, not the least of the difficulties being that of 

 finding a readily accessible source of supply, caused by old 

 methods of wiring and inconvenient location of switch boxes. 



Of even more importance is the question of making suitable 

 provision for the control of the lights for the present groups 

 and for the installation of future groups. A special panel 

 energized by a separate switch on the power house panel board 

 is needed for this purpose, from which all wires for groups 

 should lead so that there would be no physical connection be- 

 tween the lighting of the groups and that of the exhibition 

 halls. This is a matter for which a special appropriation should 

 be made in the near future as it necessarily entails a readjust- 

 ment of existing conditions. 



The Director is glad to report that two 70-foot flagpoles of 

 Oregon pine have been placed in front of the Museum, so that 



