SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1939 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENTT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1939 For 8Ale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. ----- Price 15 cents (Paper cover) United States Naiional Museum, Under Direction of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington^ D. (7., October H^ 1939. Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon the present condition of the United States National Museum and upon the work accomplished in its various departments during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1939. Very respectfully, Alexander Wetmore, Assistant Secretary, Dr. Charles G. Abbot, Secretary^ Smithsonian Institution. IT CONTENTS Page Operations for the year 1 Appropriations 1 Collections 3 Explorations and field work 4 Assistance from W orks Progress Administration 12 Educational work 13 Visitors 13 Library 14 Publications and printing 16 Photographic laboratory 17 Buildings and equipment 17 Meetings and special exhibits 18 Changes in organization and staflf 20 Detailed reports on the collections 22 Department of anthropology 22 Department of biology 32 Department of geology 53 Department of engineering and industries 66 Division of history 76 List of accessions 81 List of Museum publications 126 III : REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1939 By Alexander Wetmoke Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in Charge of the National Museum OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR APPROPRIATIONS Funds for the maintenance and operation of the United States Na- tional Museum and for the preservation of its collections for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1939, were provided by appropriations in the Executive and Independent Offices Act approved May 23, 1938. The appropriations and allotments for the work of the Museum are sum- marized as follows Preservation of coUections $609,380 Administrative reserve 3, 000 Available for expenditure $606,380 Maintenance and operation 139,000 Administrative reserve 2, 500 Available for expenditure 136, 500 Printing and binding (allotment to Museum) __ 30,000 Administrative reserve 1, 000 Available for expenditure 29, 000 Total available for year 771, 880 Total funds appropriated for the Museum and those allotted for its use were $5,840 less than in 1938, but owing to the reduction of the administrative reserve under "Printing and Binding" actual funds available for expenditure were $3,840 less than the total available in 1938. There was no change in the appropriation for "Preservation of Collections" from the preceding fiscal year. Under "Maintenance and Operation" there was an increase of $4,610 for supplies to be used in the repairing and reconditioning of exhibition halls. Under the same subappropriation, however, there 1 2 REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, 19 39 was a deduction of $10,450 for a nonrecurring item received the pre- ceding year and utilized for improving water mains and pipes and fire hose incident to fire protection. Under this subappropriation the total was $5,840, therefore, below that of the preceding fiscal year. The amount received for supplies to be used in reconditioning and improving exhibition halls was most welcome. Many of the halls in the Natural History Building have not been touched since that building was erected in 1911. All of them are greatly in need of repainting, and in several plaster has cracked and loosened to a con- siderable extent. The first major repair job undertaken on funds received for this purpose was in the north hall, in which is housed the National Collection of Fine Arts. It has been necessary to remove considerable amounts of plaster in order to repair this hall properly and make it safe. Following the completion of this work, similar repairs to other halls will be undertaken. The allotment for this work has included funds for scaffolding that will be used in subsequent repairs in all the higher-ceilinged halls in the Museum buildings. As has been pointed out in previous reports, the most urgent need of the National Museum is concerned with funds for personnel pro- motions. Turnovers have still continued in an excessive amount to the serious detriment of the work of the Museum. This condition cannot be remedied until the Museum is placed on a better basis in comparison with other Government establishments where promotions are given with some regularity as a recognition of unusually efficient service. This need was met in part in the appropriations for the fiscal year 1940, which are available as this report for the previous year is written, when money to allow a one-grade step-up for about one-third of the Museum staff was provided. There still remain, however, many individuals who have not had increases in salaries since 1931 or earlier, so that further appropriation for promotions is necessary and justified. The need for additional personnel in all classes of our service still exists. Although considerable help was received from W. P. A. per- sonnel assigned to the Museum during the past year, and some im- provement was made as regards work in arrears, it is clearly evident that our present trained permanent force is insufficient for perform- ing promptly varied tasks related to the work. This condition has been made more acute as the Museum buildings have become more and more crowded. The situation regarding space, to which atten- tion has been called on numerous occasions, is becoming more serious each year. It requires extra work to care for the specimens and insure their preservation and this consumes additional time of a group already understaffed. Crowding in many important collections : OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR 3 is acute, with the result that standards for the acceptance of added material are becoming more and more strict. Under our present space allotment, this can result in time only in losing for the national collection many specimens that should be included. The requirements for additional housing have been outlined fully in previous reports. More space is required in all departments, and new buildings are a paramount need. COLLECTIONS The annual addition to the permanent collections of the National Museum covered the usual diversity of kiMs and brought a vast amount of highly valuable material. The increase came mainly from expeditions sponsored and largely financed by the Smithsonian In- stitution and through gifts from the many friends of the Museum. The greatest number of specimens is received always in the depart- ment of biology because of the vast variety available in this field. The lesser numbers added in other departments, however, are equiva- lent in value to the collections to which they come. New material was received in 1,766 separate accessions, with a total of 368,082 specimens, distributed among the five departments as follows: Anthropology, 13,076; biology, 318,233; geology, 31,689; engineering and industries, 1,493; and history, 3,591. For examination and report 1,692 lots of specimens were received, the variety in these being as great as usual. A part of these was returned by request to the senders when the studies were completed, a part was consumed and destroyed during the process of examina- tion and analysis, and a part came as gifts to form additions to the Museum's permanent collections. The insects identified numbered about 58,000. The amount of plants and geological material was large. Gifts of duplicates to schools and other institutions numbered 3,293 specimens. Exchange of duplicate materials with other institutions and individuals totaled 13,362 specimens, and 3 specimens were trans- ferred to other governmental agencies. Loans for scientific study outside of Washington totaled 69,741, requiring a vast amount of labor in their handling. Following is a summary of the entries now included in the Museum catalogs in all departments Anthropology 699, 269 Biology 12, 796, 885 Geology 2, 555, 880 Engineering and industries 130,253 History .505, 472 Total 16, 687, 759 EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK The year's scientific investigations in the field were varied in kind and resulted in highly important additions to knowledge and in the contribution of many valuable specimens to the national collections. The work was financed principally by grants from the private funds of the Smithsonian aided by contributions from friends of the Institution. On August 25, 1938, Dr. Ales Hrdlicka completed his tenth season of anthropological work in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The sea transportation throughout these investigations, which began in May, was furnished by the United States Coast Guard, which de- serves all credit for its active cooperation. The main objectives dur- ing this expedition were to verify the existence of a pre-Aleut stock, characterized by oblong-headed skeletons; to determine definitely whether the Commander Islands in the Soviet Union could have served as a second migration route for the coming of man from Asia; and to reexamine the burial caves on several islands of the Aleutian Chain. Eock shelters on Shiprock Island were first re- visited. The mummy shelter had been studied in 1937, but a large broken rock slab was found that revealed several interesting petro- glyphs, as well as a whale scapula, decorated with broad, red, parallel lines, which had covered several mummies. Several days were spent on the south shore of Amlia and on the little island of Ilak. Three weeks were occupied in the excavation of pre-Aleut sites on Amchitka Island, and several more were devoted to the extensive site near the village of Nikolsld on the island of Umnak. A large series of skeletons was obtained, together with many bone and stone implements, large bone harpoon points, and several decorated ivory artifacts. From Umnak the expedition was transported on the Coast Guard vessel Shoshone to the Commander Islands under permission from the authorities of the Soviet Union.