46 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



take tlie materials to his home to study them at his leisure, provided 

 the Institution is satisfied as to his competency, his integrity, and 

 industry. But in granting this privilege, some restriction should be 

 put upon the time the specimens may be retained by the investigator, 

 and also upon the number he may have at once in his possession. He 

 should also give assurance that he will prepare a set of type specimens 

 properly labeled for preservation in the Smithsonian museum, and that 

 all the duplicates, if required, shall be returned to the general collection. 



The proper distribution of the duplicate specimens is a work of great 

 labor and expense. It does not consist merely in assorting and packing 

 them for transportation, but also in properly numbering and labeling 

 them for immediate use. Without these preliminaries, the specimens 

 themselves would be of comparatively little value. For example, we 

 may send to an educational establishment a series of specimens, many 

 of which are to be found in its immediate vicinity, and yet be of great 

 value on account of having attached to them the scientific names by 

 which they are known to men of science in every part of the civilized 

 world, and without which all that may be stated in regard to them in 

 books would have no interest for want of certainty as to the identity 

 of the objects described. 



To illustrate the details of the system of distribution, I may mention 

 the plan adopted in regard to the shells and minerals. Of these, a 

 complete series, consisting of a full representation of each species, is in 

 the process of being accurately labeled, and when this work is com- 

 pleted, the whole collection of duplicates will be assorted in boxes or 

 bins, each apartment containing those belonging to the same species. 

 Each shell or mineral in the same box will then be marked with the 

 same number, corresponding with a number on a list of printed labels, 

 two copies of which will be sent to each recipient of a collection ; one 

 to be preserved for reference and the other to be cut up into labels to 

 be attached to the specimens. After this preparation and arrangement, 

 individual series are made up by taking a single specimen from each 

 box. This operation demands a critical knowledge of each particular 

 class of specimens, and consequently requires the cooperation of a 

 number of experienced naturalists, each an acknowledged authority in 

 his special department. 



From the foregoing account it must be clear that the labor and time 

 required even to prepare a few sets of specimens for distribution, is 

 much greater than at first sight might be imagined ; and since the 

 number of suites of specimens in the Smithsonian collection amounts in 

 some cases to several hundred, it is evident that the expense must 



