18 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



mittee l)v the Government, and the German Crown Prince, as the high 

 protector of the congress, was onlj^ prevented from opening the con- 

 gress in person b}^ the death of his grandmother, the Empress Fried- 

 rich, a few days previous. The congress was lavishly entertained by 

 the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, as well as by the Zoological Society 

 of Berlin. But the most extraordinary proof of the public interest in 

 the congress was probably the fact that the entire " Ileichstagsgebaude." 

 the magnificent house of the German Parliament, was placed at its dis- 

 position for its meetings, lectures, etc. Thus all the general, sessions 

 were held in the great '"Plenarsitsungssaal" of the Parliament. The 

 Emperor himself, though prevented from receiving the members offi- 

 cially on account of the death of his mother, took occasion to greet 

 them informally. 



The more special object of my joining the congress was to take 

 part in the deliberations and decisions of the committee on zoological 

 nomenclature, of which 1 had been elected a member at the congress 

 in Caml)ridge in 1898. The work in this conunittee on nomenclature 

 was, on the whole, eminently satisfactory from the standpoint of 

 American zoologists, though it was found impossible to lay a draft for 

 a complete code for the congress at its Berlin meeting. It is hoped 

 that this will be accomplished at the next congress which is to be held 

 in Bern, Switzerland, in 1901. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



The Museum, established in the fundamental act creating the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, grew up largely from its private collections, but it 

 is important to consider that now it has grown into souK^thing which 

 represents more nearly the large purpose of Congress in its foundation 

 and that it is becoming a "" National'' Museum. It differs from most 

 other uuiseums in that its primary function was held to be not so much 

 the entertainment or instruction of the resident population as the 

 preservation and arrangement of the collections })rought together by 

 the Government of the United States. These collections now out- 

 number by some millions of specimens those which it has been possible 

 to place upon exhibition in the present utterly inadequate cpaarters. 



I know that the wish of those in immediate charge of the collections 

 is that they may contribute, among other important ends, to establish 

 not only a real educational museum, l)ut one which will interest not 

 only the inhabitants of Washington, but the great mmibers of Ameri- 

 can citizens aniuially visiting the capital; but this is impossible undcu' 

 the pres(Mit limitations of space and means. These exhibition features, 

 then, though not the ])rimary purpose of the museum, are for the edu- 

 cation and interest of all American citizens, and as accessions come in 

 they require constant cliange and careful study to bring them to the 

 comprehension of all Amei'icans of all ages and all grades of education. 



The definition of an educational museum made l)v the late Dr. 

 (iood(>, as "a collection of well-written labels with carefullv selected 



