20 REEOKT OF THE SECRETARY. 



l)rosecutiou of the biological scieuces, bat most largely so, iudirectly 

 through the Museum aud Bureau of Ethnology. 



The chief research has been under an arrangement made by the 

 late Secretary. Prof. E. D, Cope has been engaged during the en- 

 tire year in completing and preparing for publication the results of 

 an investigation upon the reptiles and batrachians of North America, 

 which has been in progress under the direction of the Institution for 

 more than twenty years. The first part, consisting of a Monograph on 

 the Batrachians, has been handed in and sent to the Public Printer, and 

 the work of printing it as one of the bulletins of the National Museum 

 has been already begun. 



The expense entailed in the publi(,*ation has been much greater than 

 the late Secretary anticipated, but I have felt it proper to continue it, 

 not only to carry out a purpose which had engaged the interest of Pro- 

 fessor Baird, but on account of the great intrinsic importance and value 

 of the work itself. No complete memoir on the Batrachians of North 

 America has ever been published ; while the projected work enters 

 fully into questions of anatomy and geographical distribution, in addi- 

 tion to the customary discussion of classification and synonymy, and 

 will supply a long-felt need of biologists not alone in America but 

 throughout the world. 



The second part, relating to the Eeptiles, is in progress, and its com- 

 pletion is promised during the coming year. 



Important investigations are in progress at the hands of the curators 

 and their assistants in every department of the Museum, for which ref- 

 erence may be made to that portion of my report. 



EXPLORATIONS. 



Our function in promoting the increase of knowledge has always been 

 regarded as including in its scope aud object explorations at distant or 

 less familiar localities. Though no special explorations indei)eudeut of 

 those already undertaken in connection with the Fish Commission have 

 been made during the past year, I am in hearty accord with the policy 

 of giving such encouragement to the lines of investigation heretofore 

 prosecuted in this respect as may be practicable from the portion of 

 our income which can be thus appropriated. 



The activity in exploration this year is not less than heretofore, but 

 it has chiefly been carried on by the appropriation for ethnological re- 

 searches. This has been placed by law under your Secretary, who has 

 continued the arrangement, in some sense inherited from his predeces- 

 sors, under which the direction of the expenditure has been left almost 

 wholly within the discretion of Maj. J. W. Powell, from the confidence 

 felt equally in his scientific acquirements as an ethnologist and his 

 known capacity as an administrator. The usual report of the Bureau 

 of Ethnology is given elsewhere. 



There has also been a limited amount of exploration carried on in con- 

 nection with the Museum. 



