50 



REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



upon the funds of the Institution, and greatly affecting its operations. 

 Formerly, when the cost of the exchanges amounted to only two or 

 three thousand dollars a year, the publications of the Institution were 

 of much greater extent than they are now; and it is to be hoped that 

 some provision may be made by which the expenses of exchange may 

 be materially lessened, and the former very desirable prominence of 

 the publication department be restored. It is a question whether the 

 assistance of Congress might not be invoked to make an appropriation 

 to bear at least a part of the cost. If a few thousand dollars were fur- 

 nished by the Government, it would be of very material aid and tend 

 greatly to relieve the Institution of a burden which is fast becoming 

 oppressive. One special argument in favor of such Congressional 

 action is found in the fact that, while this system of exchanges benefits 

 equally all the libraries and societies of the country, the benefit of the 

 returns inuring to the Smithsonian Institution is experienced directly 

 by Congress ; the expenditures for both publications and exchanges 

 being actually in the interest of the Congressional Library, in which 

 all the Smithsonian books are now deposited. It may safely be said 

 that if the amount of money used in carrying on the exchanges was 

 expended directly in the purchase of books for the Library of Congress, 

 it would not produce the same yield, in view of the fact that these re- 

 turns to the Smithsonian Institution consist largely of the publications of 

 societies interested in the prosecution of theoretical and applied science, 

 which, while embracing the earliest announcement of important discov- 

 eries, are for the most part not on sale, and only to be obtained by a 

 system of exchange. 



As in previous years, the following transportation companies have 

 favored the Institution by a remission of charges upon its packages, and 

 thus enabled it to carry on its system of international exchanges with a 

 fraction of the expense which would otherwise have been required. 



Anchor Steamship Company. 

 Atlas Steamship Company. 

 Companie Generale Transatlantique. 

 < lunard Steamship Company. 

 Hamburg American Packet Company. 

 Inman Steamship Company. 

 Merchants' Line <>t' Steamers. 

 Netherland-American Steam Navigation 

 Company. 



New York and P>razil Steamship Company, 

 New York andMexico Steamship Company, 

 North German Lloyd Steamship Company, 

 Pacific Mail Steamship Company. 

 Pacific Steam Navigation Company. 

 Panama Railroad Company. 

 White Cross Line of Antwerp. 



The special thanks of the Institution are again tendered to the above- 

 mentioned companies for their enlightened liberality. 



In addition to this, through the mediation of Mr. Isaac Hinckley, 

 president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad 

 Company, the four roads forming the connection betweenUew York and 

 Washington, namely, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Philadelphia, Wil- 

 mington and Baltimore, the Baltimore and Potomac, and Baltimore and 

 Ohio, have agreed to areduction to one half of the usual charges on first- 

 class freight. The saving from this concession, although not quite 



