OX THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. XV 



than a year. " This voluntary contribution to knowledge, from a man of 

 science, may surprise those whose minds are not liberalized by philosophi- 

 cal pursuits, and who cannot conceive any object in labor unconnected 

 with pecuniary gain." 



The publication of a Grammar and Dictionary of the Dacotah language, 

 a work in quarto, with special founts of type, and of immense labor, by 

 the Rev. Mr. Biggs, of the Minnesota mission, had been commenced, under 

 the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. By a fire, which occurred in 

 New York in January, the type and an edition of fifteen hundred copies 

 were destroyed. The greater portion of the manuscript copy was, however, 

 fortunately in the hands of the author. Thus far, fifteen hundred copies 

 of each memoir published by the Institution have been printed. The rules 

 adopted for their distribution are as follows : they are presented to all 

 learned societies and foreign libraries which send transactions, catalogues, 

 &c., in exchange. To all colleges in actual operation in this country, pro- 

 vided they furnish catalogues and meteorological observations in return. To 

 all States and Territories, in exchange for copies of all documents published 

 under their authority ; and, lastly, to all public libraries in this country, 

 not included in either of the foregoing classes, now containing more than 

 seven thousand volumes ; and to smaller libraries, where a whole State or 

 large district would be left unsupplied. The minor publications are also 

 given to many of the most prominent Lyceums and Academies. None of 

 the works published by the Smithsonian Institution are copyrighted ; they 

 are, therefore, free to the use of all. 



Important additions have recently been made to the Museum of the In- 

 stitution. A valuable collection of skins, skulls and skeletons of mamma- 

 lia, together with some rare fossils from the Upper Missouri, have been 

 obtained through Mr. T. Culbertson. A journey was made by Mr. Cul- 

 bertson, under the auspices of the Institution, to the country known as the 

 " Mauvaise Terres," on the Upper Missouri. Here he collected mamma- 

 lian and reptilian fossils, sufficient to load a cart to its utmost capacity. 

 These embrace many new and undescribed species, among which are the 

 Rhinoceros occidentalis and J\"ebraske?isis, the Palceotherium Bardii and 

 the Jlgrioch&rm antiquus. The journal kept by Mr. Culbertson, since 

 deceased, while on this expedition, has been published in the annual report 

 for 1800-51. Nineteen boxes of minerals, illustrative of the geological sur- 

 vey of the mineral region of Lake Superior, by Dr. C. T. Jackson, have 

 been given by the Land Office. A valuable cabinet of Natural History, 

 embracing some thousand specimens, has been deposited in the Museum 

 by Prof. Baird, and numerous donations have been made by officers of the 

 army and private individuals. 



Five large stone idols, from Central America, have been sent to the Insti- 

 tution, by Mr. Squier, who also proposes to give, under certain conditions, 



