X PUBLICATIONS OF SPENCER F. BAIRD. 



!N^iueteeii of the descriptive papers were published conjoiutly with 

 Charles Girard, while the most elaborate work, " The Birds of North 

 America," was prepared in its first edition with the aid of Messrs. 

 Cassin and Lawrence, and in its second with that of Messrs. Brewer 

 and Eidgway. 



Of the total number of papers enumerated in the list 73 relate to 

 mammals, 80 to birds, 43 to reptiles, 431 to fishes, 61 to invertebrates 

 (these being chiefly reviews), 16 to plants, 88 to geographical distribu- 

 tion, 46 to geology, mineralogy, and paleontology, 45 to anthropology, 

 31 to industry and art, 109 to exploration and travel. 



While the number of new species described does not necessarily afford 

 any clew to the value of the work accomplished, it may not be uninterest. 

 iug to refer to it as an indication of the pioneer work which it was ne- 

 cessary to do even in so prominent a group as the vertebrates. I note 

 among mammals 49, birds 70, reptiles 186, fishes 56. Forty-nine of 

 220, or nearly one fourth, of the mammals discussed in the "Mammals 

 of North America," were there described for the first time. In the cata- 

 logue of serpents not more than 60 per cent, had been named, and in 

 in preparation for studying the specimens, each was carefully ticketed 

 with its locality, and then the 2,000 or more individuals were thrown 

 indiscriminately into one great pile, and the work of sorting them out 

 by resemblances was begun. Not the least valuable have been the nu- 

 merous accurate figures of North American vertebrates, prepared under 

 Professor Baird's supervision. These include representatives of 170 

 species of mammals and 160 species of reptiles, besides still many hun- 

 dreds of birds.* 



VII. 



Passing to the consideration of the influence of Professor Baird on 

 the encouragement of scientific enterprise, it seems scarcely necessary 

 to call attention to the manner in which this influence has been exerted, 

 since the relation of the Smithsonian Institution to scientific explora- 

 tion, particularly in the lines of natural history and ethnology, is a part 

 of the scientific history of the country, and since this department of 

 the work of the Institution was always from its inception under the 

 direction of the assistant secretary. The first grant made by the In- 

 stitution for scientific exploration and field research was in 1848 to Spen- 

 cer F. Baird, of Carlisle, for the exploration of the bone caves and the 

 local natural history of Southeastern Pennsylvania. 



From the start the Department of Explorations was under his charge; 

 and in his reports to the Secretary, published year by year in the an- 

 nual report of the Institution, may be found the only systematic record 

 of government explorations which has ever been prepared. From 

 1850 to 1860 several extensive government expeditions were sent to 



* lu the bibliography below all these figures are thoroughly indexed. 



