ing the year at the structural-materials testing laboratories in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo. The work was directly under the care of Richard L. Humphrey, engineer in charge of the division, who had the assistance of a corps of engineers, chemists, geologists, and others. LABORATORY WORK. The following is a résumé of the operations of the division: Summary of operations of the structural-materials division. In addition to the above-enumerated tests the following analyses were made in the chemical section: Also analyses of water, cement, sand, etc., and 631 determinations of mortars, cinders, steel, cements, lime, and rocks were made for the United States Reclamation Service. In all 3,548 analyses and about 25,000 determinations were made. All the laboratory work undertaken was done on a basis of cooperation with the ordnance-testing laboratory at Watertown, Mass., so that duplication might be avoided. No important changes in the equipment of the laboratories were made during the year. FIELD WORK. A preliminary examination of materials about Denver, St. Louis, and San Francisco, as well as a detailed study of the structural materials about Portland, Oreg., and Tacoma and Seattle, Wash., was made by N. H. Darton, geologist, who was assigned to the technologic branch. Several tons of sand, gravel, and broken rock were obtained at Portland and Seattle and shipped to St. Louis to be tested for their value in concrete. Other field work was done in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, and samples of stone and sand were shipped to St. Louis from several localities. PUBLICATIONS. A bulletin (No. 324) on the San Francisco earthquake and fire; another (No. 329) describing the organization, equipment, and operation of the structural-materials laboratories; a third (No. 331) on Portland cement mortars and their constituent materials; and a fourth (No. 344) treating of the strength of concrete beams have been published during the year. A report describing fire-resisting tests of various building materials has been submitted for publi-. cation. SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS. The following special problems were studied: The occurrence and distribution of workable peat deposits, by C. A. Davis, peat expert; the origin of coal, by C. D. White, geologist; microscopic investigations of coal, by R. Thiessen, assistant chemist; and the occurrence of gases in coal, by R. T. Chamberlin, assistant geologist. Mr. Davis visited a number of peat bogs in the Atlantic States. Mr. White completed a study of the relative importance of oxygen and ash in coal as affecting its heating value, based on the large number of ultimate analyses of coal and lignite made by the fuels division, and prepared a report on his findings. Mr. White also took up the experimental treatment of the lignites of North Dakota and eastern Montana, in order to develop methods of handling that will give quantitative as well as microstructural data. Several related coals and some living woods were included in these studies for the sake of comparison. Mr. Chamberlin, in connection with his work, visited the Monongah mine, in West Virginia, and the Naomi and Darr mines, in Pennsylvania, after disastrous explosions, and collected samples of mine air, after damp, gas, dust, and coal, which he analyzed. Comparative studies on the mine-dust samples, charred and uncharred, old dust from the main entries, and fresh dust obtained near the coal face have been in progress. PUBLICATION BRANCH. BOOK-PUBLICATION DIVISION. SECTION OF TEXTS. The publications of the year consisted of 1 annual report, 1 monograph, 2 professional papers, 30 bulletins (1 of which was also published in 7 separate chapters) and 13 advance chapters from one other bulletin, 22 water-supply papers, 1 annual report on mineral resources for 1906 (also published in 45 separate chapters), 5 advance chapters from the annual report on mineral resources for 1907, and 9 geologic folios. These publications were the Twenty-eighth Annual Report; Monograph XLIX; Professional Papers 53 and 56; Bulletins 304, 309, 311, 313, 316 (volume and 7 separates), 317 to 337, 339, 13 separates from 340, and 342 to 344; Water-Supply Papers 195, 197, 198, 199, and 201 to 218; Mineral Resources for 1906 (volume and 45 separate pamphlets) and 5 separate chapters from Mineral Resources for 1907; geologic folios 151 to 159, inclusive. Summaries of these publications are given on pages 11-20 of this report. They comprise 10,149 pages, those of the last fiscal year covering 14,875 pages. In addition to the publications of the regular classes many circulars and pamphlets, most of them relating to administration, were published. During the year 20,691 pages of manuscript were prepared for printing, and proof sheets for 10,827 final printed pages were read and corrected, this work involving the handling of 4,479 galley and 16,140 page proofs. The corresponding figures for last year were 26,912 manuscript pages, 16,833 final printed pages, 7,112 galley proofs, and 28,018 page proofs. The make-up was prepared for 369 plates, the proofs of which were also read, as against 661 plates so prepared last year. Indexes were prepared for 39 publications, covering 7,538 pages, the corresponding figures for last year being 67 publications and 12,167 pages. Six persons have been employed in this section for most of the year. The amount of work recorded is considerably less than that reported last year, but material assistance was rendered at different times in reorganizing the work of the section of distribution. SECTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Illustrations were prepared for 1 annual report, 3 professional papers, 25 bulletins, 7 water-supply papers, 2 volumes of mineral resources, and 1 handbook for geologists. These illustrations consisted of 175 maps, 713 sections and drawings, 3,325 paleontologic drawings, 586 photographs (retouched), and 144 miscellaneous illus trations. At the close of the year material for the illustration of 28 reports was in hand, part of which has already been prepared. The committee on illustrations has rejected during the year 433 illustrations, or 8 per cent of the number submitted to the publication division. Proofs to the number of 1,858 were received and compared critically. Not only have many proofs been carried up to the fourth revise, but considerable preliminary proof reading of lithographic map work has been done to expedite the completion of the lithographs by the contractors. The examination of the printed editions of 403 plate inserts delivered by the various contractors at the Government Printing Office resulted in the rejection of 2,007 copies, and their reprinting was ordered by the Public Printer. During the year 182 electrotypes were furnished to outside applicants not connected with this Survey, and 45 cuts were reused in various reports. SECTION OF GEOLOGIC MAPS. The number of folios published and prepared for publication by this section was less than usual this year, and the drafting force was employed part of the time in compiling data for the geologic map of North America and preparing maps for other geologic reports. At the beginning of the year 15 folios were on file or in course of publication, and 4 were transmitted to the section for publication during the year. Of these 9 have been issued. (See pp. 19-20.) On June 30, 1908, but one folio, Mercersburg-Chambersburg, Pa., was on file and 9 were in course of engraving and publication: Aberdeen-Redfield, S. Dak.; Accident-Grantsville, Md.-Pa.; Bellefourche, S. Dak.; El Paso, Tex.; Franklin Furnace, N. J.; Philadelphia, Pa.N. J.; Santa Cruz, Cal.; Trenton, N. J.-Pa.; Watkins Glen-Catatonk, N. Y. SECTION OF TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS. A year ago the editor of topographic maps reported 69 new topographic atlas sheets and special maps which had not yet been put into the hands of the engravers and 34 in process of engraving. The corresponding figures on June 30, 1908, were 54 and 37. The accessions during the year numbered 81 maps, and the withdrawals 3 maps; 90 maps were published. Manuscripts edited, including verification or correction of all geographic names: Atlas sheets and special maps, 77; corrections, 158 maps. Proof read: New topographic atlas sheets and special maps, 90; corrections, 158. During the year the manuscripts of 179 map illustrations to be included in 33 volumes, including 2 Senate documents, were examined and edited. Five persons were engaged in the work of this section during the entire year. SECTION OF DISTRIBUTION. There were delivered to the section of distribution during the year 127 new books, 9 folios, 87 new maps, 127 reprints of maps, and 15 special maps, a total of 365; the totals of all editions being 332,523 books, 42,231 folios, and 534,477 maps; grand total, 909,231. During the year 333,705 volumes, 39,389 folios, and 474,868 maps (including 369,521 sold), a total of 847,962, were distributed. The total amount received and turned into the Treasury as a result of sales of publications was $17,013.56, a decrease of $1,619.75 from the amount received during the year 1906-7. During the year 76,670 letters were received, answered, and filed, being 7,210 fewer than for the preceding year. DIVISION OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING. MAPS, FOLIOS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. At the beginning of the year 103 atlas sheets and special maps were on hand for publication, 34 of which were partly engraved. Of these, 3 were afterward withdrawn, leaving 100. The accessions during the year (comprising new maps, reductions, and combinations) numbered 81 maps. The status of these 181 maps on June 30, 1908, was as follows: Published during the year or in press at its close (double In process of engraving. 90 37 54 Besides the engraving of new maps, corrections were made on the copperplates of 158 maps hitherto published. Editions of 214 maps were printed and delivered to the map room. Of these, 87 were new and 127 were reprints or new editions. Nine geologic folios were published and 42,231 copies printed and delivered. Nine other geologic folios were partly completed at the close of the year. Under contracts with the Government Printing Office, illustrations were printed for the following publications: Professional Papers United States Geological Survey, Nos. 55, 60, 62, 63; Bulletins United States Geological Survey, Nos. 318, 320, 321, 324, 335, 338; congressional documents, Sixtieth Congress, first session-Senate Documents Nos. 151 and 325, Senate Report No. 580, and House Document No. 719. For the Government Printing Office, also, maps of 9 bird reservations, 2 national monuments, and 1 national park were reproduced and printed. For the Forest Service maps of 27 national forests were reproduced, printed, and delivered. This work for other branches of the Government amounted to $46,800.90, and the division was reimbursed by transfer of credit on the books of the United States Treasury. Of miscellaneous matter of all kinds the total number of copies printed was over two million and required over seven million printings. The total number of copies printed of maps, folios, and miscellaneous matter was 2,824,796, requiring over eleven million impressions. There were also 299 transfer impressions made and sent to contracting printers. INSTRUMENT SHOP. The work of the instrument shop consisted in overhauling and repairing surveying, drafting, and engraving instruments, and in |