Report on the Progress and Condition of the United States National Museum

Q 11 U52Z CRLSSI SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1934 •••••*•& x* If .^aea PERN /ORI $ UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1935 Price I 5 cents For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. United States National Museum, Under Direction of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C, October IS, 193Jf. Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon the pres- ent condition of the United States National Museum and upon the work accomplished in its various departments during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1934. Very respectfully, Alexander Wetmore, Assistant Secretary. Dr. Charles G. Abbot, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. ii CONTENTS Page Operations for the year 1 Appropriations 1 Collections 2 Explorations and field work 3 Assistance by Civil Works Administration 7 Educational work 9 Visitors 9 Library 10 Publications 12 Photographic laboratory 12 Buildings and equipment 12 Meetings and special exhibits 14 Changes in organization and staff 15 Detailed reports on the collections 17 Department of anthropology 17 Department of biology 26 Department of geology 40 Department of arts and industries 51 Division of history 64 List of accessions 67 List of Museum publications 109 in : REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1934 By Alexander Wetmoee Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in Charge of the National Museum OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR APPROPRIATIONS Funds for the maintenance of the United States National Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1934, were provided by appropriations carried in the Executive and Independent Offices Act approved June 16, 1933. In addition, under the economy provi- sions of the Independent Offices Act for 1935, an indefinite appro- priation, effective February T, 1934, amounting to 5 percent of the basic salaries, was made to cover the return of a portion of the salary reduction in force at the beginning of the year. The Museum allotments are summarized as follows Preservation of collections $509,000 Maintenance and operation 128, 500 Printing and binding 3, 629 Total, regular appropriations 641, 129 5 percent increase of salaries, Feb. 1 to June 30: Preservation of collections 12, 028 Maintenance and operation 1, 714 Total available for year 654, 871 The direct appropriations for the Museum for 1934 were $60,327 below those for 1933, but this decrease was lessened by $13,742 from the 5 percent salary return, which brought the total to $654,871. The drastic cut carried with it the elimination of the provision effective last year for impoundment of salaries from vacant positions and made it possible to utilize the funds saved from lapses and necessary delays in filling vacancies. Without this change, which allowed essential temporary services and the pur- chase of miscellaneous materials, the organization would have been unable to operate. 1 2 KEPORT OP THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1934 The allotment for printing and binding was $18,725 below the greatly reduced amount of the previous year, and the printing of manuscripts, already greatly in arrears, was entirely stopped except for the annual report. Another serious result of this reduction was the loss of funds for the binding of serial publications and other books for the Museum library. One position was added to the personnel of the Museum, an assistant librarian transferred from the abolished Regional Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. This position was established to carry on certain bibliographical work greatly needed in the library. No relief was obtained from serious condi- tions resulting from a greatly undermanned force, and the custodial, clerical, and scientific personnel is still far inadequate for our needs. The return of a portion of the salary cut of last year has been of great assistance to all members of the staff, since living costs have been steadily mounting. Additional personnel is a recurrent annual need, since clerical and subprofessional aid through the entire staff is at low ebb, resulting in an arrearage of work in arranging and cataloging specimens that increases steadily each year. Further guards are required in order to protect properly our collections and buildings and to allow full leave for Sunday and holiday service, and there is need for an increased force of charwomen and laborers. The status of the erection of new wings for the Natural History Building remains unchanged, with the project authorized by act of Congress and the preliminary architects' plans completed. It is hoped that under the Public Works Administration or through some other source means may be found to put this building plan into effect, as the Museum's quarters become steadily more crowded, and need for more space is imperative. COLLECTIONS Additions of valuable material to the collections continued throughout the year, the receipts being largely in the form of gifts as expeditions were curtailed; no specimens were purchased except in the case of commitments already made. The extensive collections of the Museum prove to be a definite magnet, drawing offers con- stantly from owners of private collections of various kinds. New material came in 1,842 separate accessions, with a total of 333,874 specimens divided among the five departments as follows: Anthro- pology, ; biology, geology, ; arts and industries, 9,599 282,441 ; 30,747 5,832 ; history, 5,255. Statement regarding some of the more important additions will be found in the reports of the departments that follow, and all are noted in the accession list. The total increase for the preceding year was 348,012 specimens of all kinds. : OPEEATIONS FOR THE YEAR 3 o For examination and report 1,376 lots of material were received, including much of a botanical and geological nature, and many individual specimens. Part was returned by request to the senders, when it was not consumed during analysis, and part retained for the collections under arrangement with the donors. Gifts of specimens to schools and other educational organizations numbered 7,197 specimens, including collections of mollusks and fishes, sets to illustrate rock weathering and soils, and illustrative groups of rocks, ores, and minerals. Exchanges of duplicate materials with other institutions and individuals totaled 16,356 specimens, and 50 specimens were transferred to other departments. Loans to workers outside of Washington numbered 30,065 individual specimens. Following is a summary of specimens now covered in the Museum catalogs Anthropology 678, 192 Biology 11, 104, 838 Geology 2, 158, 455 Arts and industries 121, 199 History 494, 027 Total 14, 556, 711 EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK Work in the field during the year was much curtailed through the reduction in regular appropriations and through the assignment for other purposes of funds usually available from the private in- come of the Smithsonian Institution. Further, because of reduced moneys, the services of the staff were required more or less continu- ously in the Museum to carry on the usual routine work in connection with the collections. The field work done was financed mainly through grants from the invested funds of the Smithsonian and other sources, with certain projects of an archeological nature carried on in connection with C. W. A. and P. W. A. projects. Donations from interested friends also helped to make the work more effective and thorough. Additional funds for field investigations are one of the always important needs of our organization. During the last few weeks of the fiscal year, H. W. Krieger, curator of ethnology, undertook field work in the valley of the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, the immediate purpose being to salvage archeological information and material in the area to be flooded by the dam under construction at Bonneville, Oreg. This work was carried on at the request of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, through an allotment of P. W. A. funds. The field is one familiar to Mr. Krieger, who has worked in the area previously under the auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 4 KEPOKT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1934 From August 19 to November 1, 1933, Frank M. Setzler, assistant curator of archeology, directed the excavation and restoration of several Indian mounds, a neighboring village site, and surrounding earthworks near Marksville, Avoyelles Parish, La., in a cooperative project with the city of Marksville, which had purchased a large portion of the area known to archeologists as the Marksville Works for development as a park and recreational center. The local com- mittee in charge and the city council, cognizant of the value of scientific data to be obtained through careful examination, united in inviting the Smithsonian Institution to supervise the excavation and the restorations. The necessary labor was supplied through the local Emergency Relief Administration. The results more than justified expectations. Various mounds were explored and then restored, and village sites were excavated. The scientific importance of the obser- vations made lies in the fact that material remains, local burial customs, and other factors have made it possible to identify the culture of this site definitely as a southeastern variant of the spec- tacular Hopewell archeological culture previously known in southern Ohio, with related phases appearing in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. Although a few Hopewell vessels from south of the Ohio River had been described prior to the excavations at Marksville, archeologists have never considered the possibility of finding so far south an aboriginal site whose material remains are so closely related to this prehistoric Indian culture. The results obtained at the Marksville Works by Fowke and Setzler have not only enlarged the boundary of the highly developed Hopewell complex but have proved this to be one of the basic cultures in the Southeast.

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