Jan., 192 1. Annual Report of the Director. 



391 



removal of the specimens. Dining the period of packing as a whole 

 two hundred and eighty exhibition cases were emptied of their con- 

 tents and all fittings made fast so that there would be no danger of 

 injiuy to any part in moving. It is gratifying to report that this work 

 was so carefully and thoroughly done that with the exception of one 

 case which failed owing to faulty construction, no cases or contents 

 suffered any breakage of glass or other marked injury during the moving 

 to the new building and placing in position there. 



One of the most difficult specimens to prepare for moving was the 

 skeleton of the large dinosaur. Because of its great weight and fragile 

 nature this could not be transported as a whole. It was therefore 

 necessary to disarticulate the skeleton and handle each bone as a unit. 

 The leg bones and most of the pelvic bones were crated separately 

 without additional reinforcement. The foot bones and the smaller 

 bones of the tail were separated and packed in tight boxes. The ribs 

 required additional strengthening. Each rib was first wound spirally 

 with tough paper to protect its finish. It was then covered with plaster 

 and burlap, as fossils are treated for shipment from the field. In turn 

 each rib was further reinforced by means of iron rods, either bent to 

 conform to the outline or extending across the arc as a chord. The 

 entire series was then crated. The vertebrae were handled singly. 

 Before removing from their position on the frame-work the spines and 

 lateral processes were braced by means of light, iron rods. These braces, 

 extending from each centrum to the lateral processes and thence to the 

 crest of the spine of each vertebra, were attached by the use of plaster. 

 This done, the screws holding each vertebra to the steel frame-work 

 were removed, leaving the immediate support attached to the specimen. 

 The vertebrae were then placed separately on light, wooden frame- 

 works which acted as temporary bases, and were firmly anchored to 

 them in an upright position by means of wires attached to the four 

 comers of the base and drawn tightly through the neural canal. The 

 vertebrae were then placed, two each, in wheeled carriers padded at 

 the bottom to protect from jar. Each vertebra was firmly attached to 

 the bottom of the carrier by means of long screws driven through the 

 temporary base. By the use of all these means the entire skeleton was 

 well protected and was transported to the new building with compara- 

 tively little breakage. The steel framework on which the skeleton was 

 installed was unbolted and moved as lengths of structural steel and 

 the wooden base above the frame-work was taken apart and carefully 

 crated for transportation. 



The safe transportation of the large fulgurite also presented a some- 

 what difficult problem. The specimen is an exceedingly irregular hollow 



