NATIONAL MTTSEUM BUILDINGS. 287 



occupied sduic twt'iity-live years afjo, when the larj^e contril)ati(ms to the (iovern- 

 ment from exliihitors at tlie Philadelphia Centennial Exhil)ition led to the erection 

 of the ]\In,«eniii hnildin>r, completed in 188L By 1883 this structure was also filled, 

 and thoujrh numerous efforts have since been made to secure more ample quarters, 

 all have met with faihnv. In ISSS, 1890, and 1892 the Senate voted $500,000 for a 

 new building', and in 189(>, Si'50,000, but none of these measures was even considered 

 in the House of Representatives. 



There has been no abatement in tlu' nund)er of collections received annually, but 

 in fact a general increase from year to year, and a severe task has thus devolved 

 upon the ]\Iuseum authorities in arranging for their disposition. New specimens 

 have I'onstantly been added to the exhibition halls and storage rooms until both are 

 overcrowded to the extent that in the one the objects, as a rule, can not be properly 

 viewed by visitors, and in the other their classification has become impossible, and 

 they are for the most j)art practically inaccessible for study. But so extensive have 

 been the accessions that only a part could be disposed of in this manner, and it 

 became necessary, several years ago, to resort to outside storage, which is now pnj- 

 vided for in an old wooden shed upon the ]Mall and in several rented buildings. 

 None of these buildings is of fireproof construction, though they contain collections 

 of great value and in large part not replaceable. They also lack facilities for the 

 classification and arrangement of the specimens, which are packed away in shipping 

 boxes, and for the time serve no purpose of any kind. 



The collections made by the Government surveys, of which the ^Museum is tlie 

 legal custodian, can continue to be received and housed, as a<lditional storage build- 

 ings may he lease<l, if necessary, though the further provision of the law to make 

 them at all times available for study and examination can no longer be carried out. 

 The same applies to specimens ol)tained by purchase or exchange and to such dona- 

 tions as are given without condition. The Museum is in fact being resolved into a 

 mere storehouse of material which comes to it mainly without solicitation, and its 

 larger purpose, while never lost sight of, is becoming more and more difficult to 

 maintain. Its reserve or record collections in every branch should be so systemat- 

 ically arranged that any spei'imens desired for study could inunediately 1)e found; 

 the public exhibition shouhl comprise the entire range of JMuseum subjects, and be 

 installed effectively and withont crowding, and there shouhl be ample and well- 

 appointed working (juarters, in which all the activities of the establishment could 

 be conveniently carried on. 



With the conditions as they now are, it is not to be wondered at tiiat the National 

 Museum lacks that character of support which has done so much for many other 

 museums. Its donations are generally small and relatively unimportant. The 

 possessors of large and valuable collections will not present them where they can 

 not be at once displayed or well arranged. Such inducements can now rarely be 

 offered here, but many of tlie larger museums elsewhere owe their principal growth 

 to generous gifts from wealthy patrons of science and the arts. Specific meu- 

 tipn coidd be made of several large collections which their owners would have 

 preferred to place at the national capital, but which have been given to or depositeil 

 in other museums, because in Washington they would have to be packi-d away for 

 an indefinite period, at great risk of injury and destruction. 



The amount of floor space occupied by the national colU'ctions is ver\^ much 

 smaller than would appear to the casual visitor. The two main buildings contain, 

 in fact, only 195, 48(5 square feet, to which the outside buildings, mostly rented, add 

 43,203 square feet, making a total of 238,689 square feet. The latter are partly occu- 

 pied by workshops, but are mainly used for the gross storage of specimens, and in no 

 case for exhibition or for the arrangement in classified order of the reserve series. 



In London the subjects represented by the Fnitecl States National i\Tuseum arc 

 distributed among several nuiseums, such as the British Museum, leaving out the 



