APPENDIX TO THE SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



Appendix I. 

 Rp]PORT ON THE ITNITED STATES NATIONAL MTTSEUM. 



iSik: I liave the honi)r to .submit the following rej^ort on the condition and opera- 

 tions of the National Museum during the ypar ending June 30, 1902: 



Though having as its primary function the preservation and classification of the 

 Government collections, tlie National ]\Iuseum is best known to the publii' l)y its 

 educational features, the most obvious of these being the illustration of nature and 

 of the arts of man by means of carefully selected series of o])jects appropriately 

 lal)eled and arranged in its exhi])ition halls in the city of Washington. Its educa- 

 tional work, however, reaches out to all parts of the country through tlie distribu- 

 tion of its duplicate sjiecimens and the dissemination of knowledge through its 

 publications and by its correspondence. The collections have long since outgrown 

 the accommodations provided for them, and for some years the bulk of the material 

 received has gone into storage. It is, therefore, very gratifying to note the dispo- 

 sition of Congress, manifested at its last session, to grant funds for the erection ()f a 

 new building. 



The accessions during the past year have increased the total number of specimens 

 to above 5,000,000. Besides this, nearly 700 lots of specimens were sent to the 

 Mu.seum from all parts of the country for identification and report, and several thou- 

 sand letters asking for information on scientific subjects have been received and 

 answered. 



There has been a large increase over former years in the amount of duplicate 

 material distributed as gifts to educational establishments and sent out in exchange 

 for an equivalent return, the total numlter of specimens so disposinl of having 

 exceeded 30,000. In addition to the routine duties connected with the care and 

 classification of the collections, much imi)ortant scientific work has been accom- 

 plished ])y the Museum staff, and the facilities of the Museum for conducting 

 researches have been availed of by many persons not connected with the establish- 

 ment. Over 6,000 specimens were als(j lent to specialists for study at their own 

 laboratories. 



The number of persons who visited the IMuseum during the year was 173,888. 



lluUdin<j>f. — Tlic INIuseum occupies for its various purposes the greater part of the 

 Smith.sonian building, the adjacent large brick building, erected about 1880 for its 

 special use, parts of three detached l)uildings on the Smithsonian and Armory reser- 

 vations, and several rented buildings south of r> street SW. The Smithsonian and 

 ]Museum buildings are mainly filled with the exhiljition collections, but contain also 

 the oftices and laboratories and the reference and study collections, .so far as it has 

 been i)Ossible io accommodate them. The preparators' workrooms and the general 

 storage are mostly outside. 



The reports for many years iuive, called attention to the overcrowding in every 

 branch of the Museum. In some of the exhibition halls there are scarcely passage- 

 ways for visitors between the cases; the reserve series of specimens comprising the 



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