^Q REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Ts duriug the past three years, so during 1880, the number of com. 

 rnvtlcttious has'been very great in regard to ant^opo^gy uauu^l 

 l,i,torv mineralogy, exchanges, employment, and publications, m le 

 i?„' trarstoftbese the Immediatecause has been theuuprecedened 



^oii n« nronrietors of private collections, aware tbat the iustitiuiou 

 bL :^^l a'wli't^r r^oo^m requisite for the collation of its -t s^^^^^^^^ 

 of specimens of natural history and the elimination of the dnpHcates 

 frev oufto the distribution of the latter, have hastened t<, apply 

 for a share in this material, the applications in almost every mstauoe 

 necesstting answer by reason of inquiries for -"lou m« 

 not covered by any of the many printed circulars of the Institution. 



In mil eralogy the number of applicants for informatmn has large y 

 inore. serduriSg the past year. Supposed discoveries ot mineral wealth 

 "mtotti^e to°be reported to the Institution, and «i;--- -^ '^^'^ 

 warded for examination. Qualitative determ.natmns only, l'"^'^ ;;' ^>» 

 made gratuitously for individuals or for private """--^^'^^^f,; 

 butihese generally suface. In making known f^l^^^^'l^^'^l 

 examinations the mineralogist presents his repor s to *« Secretary on 

 Wanks nrenared for the purpose. If approved the substance oi his re 

 ptrti communicated by let'ter to the party -''-f -»" *« J-^X 

 ^ The increased activity in the department of «''«''»S««^,'^^^^ J* "f^ 

 continued, but this source of correspondence has during the pa t jea 

 proved far more productive of communications than was »" ;« ^tel. 

 and while the increase in the number of these has been marked, m ^ eiy 

 m ny in ances their nature has been snch as to call for a 8-era rev ew 

 of the entire subject of exchanges, thus giving tothoreplie.^on hepa 

 of the Institution, the character more of memoirs than of letteis ilus 

 feature of a large part of the exchange correspondence grew out of the 

 Itt Snof the P^riioeographical Congress of 1875, -/-o— -S*o 

 the nations of the worid the estaWishment ot a system foi the inte. 

 chan^-e of he official documents of their respective governments, which 

 rec°mmendation has recently been favorably acted upon by a nnniber 

 of rvernments, including the United States, which has designated the 

 Smithsonian Institution as its agent in the premises. 



