REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 27 



Volume XVII of the Miscellaneous Collections will consist of — 



1. Documents relative to the Origin and History of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. W. J. Ehees. 



Volume XVIII of the Miscellaneous Collections will be composed of — 



1. The Scientific Writings of James Smithson. 



2. An Account of James Smithson and his Bequest. W. J. Ehees. 



3. Journals of the Board of Regents, reports of committees, statistics, 

 &c, from 1816 to 1877. 



Volume XIX of Miscellaneous Collections will consist of — 



1. Proceedings of the National Museum for 1878. 



2. Proceedings of the National Museum for 1879. 



Writings of James Smithson. — The scientific writings of James Smith- 

 son, the distinguished founder of the Smithsonian Institution, have 

 been collected and are published in accordance with the instructions of 

 the Board of Regents. These memoirs were originally contributed to 

 the " Transactions of the Royal Society of London," of which Smithson 

 was a member between the years 1791 and 1817, and to Thomson's 

 "Annals of Philosophy," between 1819 and 1825. They are twenty- 

 seven in number and embrace a wide range of subjects, from the origin 

 of the earth, the nature of the colors of vegetables and insects, the anal- 

 yses of minerals and chemicals, to an improved method of constructing 

 lamps, and of making coffee. Some of these papers were translated into 

 French by the author and others, and published in the " Journal de 

 Physique, dc Chimie, ct WHistoire N~aturelle. v They prove conclusively the 

 scientific character of Smithson and his title to distinction as a contrib- 

 utor to knowledge. 



Among the personal effects of the founder of the Institution were 

 several hundred manuscripts, besides a large collection of scraps and 

 notes on a great diversity of subjects, including history, the arts, lan- 

 guage, rural economy, construction of buildings, &c, which, unfortu- 

 nately, were destroyed by the fire in the Smithsonian building in 18G5. 

 It is probable that Smithson also contributed articles to scientific and 

 literary journals other than those mentioned, but none have been found, 

 though the leading English periodicals of the day have been carefully 

 examined. 



Appended to the writings of Smithson are reviews of their scientific 

 character, by Prof. Walter R. Johnson, communicated to the National 

 Institute of Washington in 1844, and by J. R. McD. Irby prepared for 

 the Institution in September, 1878. The material for this work has 

 been collected and the volume edited by Wm. J. Rhees, chief clerk of 

 the Institution. 



History of the Institution. — The work mentioned in the last report rel- 

 ative to the origin and history of the Institution, as ordered by the 

 Board of Regents, has been completed under the efficient editorshiij of 



