CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE. 7 



1851. B.URD, Spencer F.— Contiuued. 



attempt complete collt:ction.s of all natural objects, but rather to gather up such materials for 

 investigation as have been comparatively neglected by others. It may, indeed, be desirable, 

 for purposes of general examination, to have extensive aeries of specimens from the three 

 kingdoms of nature — animal, vegetable, and mineral — so far as they can be procured and ex- 

 hibited without undue expense of time, money, and space. Por the present, however, attention 

 should be directed mainly to such branches as hitherto may not have had their due share of 

 attention. 



"A prominent object in making collections should be to furnish to travelers the means of 

 determining the character of objects collected in various parts of North America. 



" Hitherto, officers of the Army returning to Washington have generally been obliged to 

 send or carry these obejects out of the city for the pvirpose of identiflcation or verification, thus 

 involving a considerable loss of time and credit. These specimens becoming widely scattered 

 rarely return hither, and, when another occasion arises, the whole labor has to be repeated. 

 By retaining them here and combining with them such series of specimens from North America, 

 and other parts of the world, as may be specially procured for the purpose, very little delay 

 in making up reports need hereafter arise. It will, of course, be necessary to call in the aid of 

 the library in procuring all the general and special works which may be required in these 

 investigations. Towards such help the rich collection of transactions of learned societies, 

 already in the library of the Institution, and augmenting daily, will greatly tend. 



"Collections illustrating the general natural history of North America become, then, an ob- 

 ject of primary impoit.auce. Much valuable material of this kind is now on hand and much, 

 it is hoped, will be procured in the various ways hereafter specified. An exceedingly im- 

 portant aid to this is furnished by the act of Congress establishing the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, which specifies that all objects of natural history belonging, or hereafter to belong, to the 

 United States, in whosoever's custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such persons as 

 are authorized by the Board of Regents to receive them. This entrusts to the Institution the 

 custody of .all collections publicly and officially ma<le ; but there are many valuable specimens 

 procuied in a private way whose acquisition must depend on the co-operation and assistance 

 of officers of the various expeditions and of heads of departments. Officers stationed at the 

 various military posts have it in their power to do much by procuring the objects of natural 

 history in their vicinitj' and forwarding them to Washington. It is earnestly hoped that this 

 co-operation may be obtained generally. 



"Next in importance to North American objects of nature are those of Europe. The ties 

 uniting the two continents are not merely those of moral, civil, and political relationship, for 

 the connection existing between the natural history of the two is almost as intimate. A large 

 proportion of the genera found in the one occur in the other— often the same species — or 

 those that are very closely allied. This is true of all orders of animals and of most families 

 of plants. 



"Next to Europe comes Japan, a region which, in some respects, is more closely allied to our 

 country than even Europe: This is especially the case with respect to reptiles, some of which, 

 as species of Plestiodon .and others, have been considered by eminent herpetologists absolutely 

 identical with North American. Unfortunately there are at the present time almost insup- 

 erable difficulties in the way of procuring Japanese specimens ; the Dutch naturalists being 

 the only ones who have succeeded in exploring even the shores of this counti-y. Little can be 

 done, therefore, except by exchange with the museums of Holland. 



" With regard to collections from other countries than those specified, the best rule will be 

 to seek for those series which the other museums of the country do not possess. What these 

 are I do not, at present, feel prepared to state ; but hope to have it in my power in a future 

 report to illustrate more fully this subject in a general account of the different collections in 

 North America. 



"It may, perhaps, be well to indicate briefly the branches of North American natural history 

 which hiive received most attention. Mammalia have been ably investigated by Godman, 

 Harlan, Audubon, Bachman, and others ; the present state of our knowledge of the subject 

 being exhibited in the works of the two last-named gentlemen. There is, however, no good 

 collection of these animals ; that of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia being 

 much the best in the country. The private collection of Mr. Audubon is more complete than 

 any other. It is a mortifying fact that this gentleman was obliged to have recourse to foreign 

 museums for the puipose of figuring and describing certain North American species which 

 should have been accessible in one collection, at least, in this country. 



" The ornithological collections of the country, both public and private, are very numerous. 

 Among the former that of the Academy of Natur.al Sciences is by far the best. The New 

 York Lyceum and the Boston Natural History Society have pretty good collections. Of 

 private collections, among the best are those of Messrs. Bell, Giraud. and Lawrence, of New 

 York. The ornithology of North America, east of the Mississippi, has been pretty well 

 worked up, but much remains to be done west of this boundary. 



