KEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1910. 11 



"VMiile it is the primary duty of a museum to preserve the objects 

 confided to its care, as it is that of a hbrary to preserve its books 

 and manuscripts, yet the importance of pubhc collections rests not 

 upon the mere basis of custodianship, nor upon the number of 

 specimens assembled and their money value, but upon the use to 

 which they are put. Judged by this standard, the National Museum 

 may claim to have reached a high state of efficiency. From an 

 educational point of view it is of great value to those persons who 

 are so fortunate as to reside in Washington or who are able to visit 

 the Nation's capital. In its well-designed cases, in which every detail 

 of structure, appointment, and color is considered, a selection of 

 representative objects is placed on view to the public, all being 

 carefuUy labeled individually and in groups. The child as well as 

 "the adult has been provided for, and the kindergarten pupil and the 

 high-school scholar can be seen here, supplementing their classroom 

 games or studies. Under authority from Congress, the small colleges 

 and higher grades of schools and academies throughout the land, 

 especially in places where museums do not exist, are also being aided 

 in their educational work by sets of duplicate specimens, selected 

 and labeled to meet the needs of both teachers and pupils. 



Nor has the elementary or even the higher education been by any 

 means the sole gainer from the work of the Museum. To advance 

 knowledge, to gradually extend the boundaries of learning, has been 

 one of the great tasks to which the Museum, in consonance with the 

 spirit of the Institution, has set itself from the first. Its staff, though 

 chiefly engaged in the duties incident to the care, classification, and 

 labeling of collections in order that they ma}'' be accessible to the 

 public and to students, has yet in these operations made important 

 discoveries in every department of the Museum's activities, which 

 have in turn been communicated to other scholars through its 

 numerous publications. But tlie collections have not been held for 

 the study of the staff nor for the scientific advancement of those 

 belonging to the establishment. Most freely have they been put at 

 the disposal of investigators connected w^ith other institutions, and, 

 in fact, without the help of many such the record of scientific progress 

 based upon the material in the Museum would be greatly curtailed. 

 Wlien it is possible to so arrange, the investigator comes to Wash- 

 ington ; otherwise such collections as he needs are sent to him, whether 

 he resides in this country or abroad. In this manner practically 

 every prominent specialist throughout the world interested in the 

 subjects here well represented has had some use of the collections, 

 and thereby the National Museum has come to be recognized as a 

 conspicuous factor in the advancement of knowledge wherever civili- 

 zation has a foothold. 



