274 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 



From S. F. Baird to George P. Marsh, Constantinople. 



WASHINGTON, May 2, 1852. 



MY DEAR MR. AND Mrs. MARSH: 



Your most welcome letter of March 3rd and I4th arrived a day 

 or two ago, and has been read and re-read a dozen times. I had only 

 to regret its extreme brevity, as a man in Constantinople who has 

 nothing to do, might write more than four pages at a time, don't 

 you think so? Still I fear I may not do much better, as I now write 

 at night and shall probably finish this letter while asleep. 



I know you will rejoice to learn that the Board of Regents at 

 their meeting yesterday raised salaries of us assistants five hundred 

 each; Jewett now has 2500 and I 2000. I hope next year they will 

 bring mine up to his mark and then I shall be satisfied. As to the 

 occupation with clerical business, I fear we will never be able to get 

 out of this. So much there is to be done, and so little money to 

 do it with, that I fear we must ever be hewers of wood and 

 drawers of water. 



We are getting on well at the Smithsonian, although no com- 

 mencement has yet been made upon the interior of the main building. 

 The tower rooms will all be done in a few days; after which some plan 

 of fireproofing will probably be accepted, and the whole rapidly 

 hurried to completion. The active operations are progressing finely. 

 Mr. Jewett's stereotyping promises well, and he is commencing to 

 work in earnest at the catalogue. I have ushered two new volumes 

 of Contributions nearly through the press besides some octavos. 

 My grand plan of international exchange is working like a charm. 

 The German periodicals and the letters of societies are filled with 

 encomia upon the "Grossartigkeit" and all that sort of thing of the 

 Institution. I have accumulated a vast amount of matter to send 

 off this spring, with our books, such as abstracts of Census, maps 

 of Railroads and Canals, Congressional documents, Schoolcraft's 

 book, etc. Last year you remember I made up 240 cubic feet, or 

 8,000 pounds of books for Europe. This year the amount will 

 probably be doubled. All the communication between Scientific 

 bodies throughout Europe and America comes through us; and all 

 concerned are loud in praise of the efficiency and despatch of the 



