26 KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



tific societies established in this city. In tbe infancy of the Philosopli- 

 ical, the Antiiropological, and the Biological Societies of Washington, 

 this form of patronage appeared to be a very proper metlKJd of pro- 

 moting the increase and diffusion of knowledge. But now that these 

 societies are well established on a permanent basis, with a large mem- 

 bership for each, such a support appears to be less required. In like 

 manner the publications of the National Museum being provided for by 

 a Congressional appropriation, this Institution may well relinquish the 

 expense of any reissue of them, while still employing its exchange 

 service for the gratuitous transmission of such copies of the " Bulle- 

 tins" and "Proceedings" as maybe intrusted to its care. Thus far 

 eight volumes of the Miscellaneous Collections have been occupied 

 with these issues, to wit: Volumes xiii, xix, xxii, xxiii, and xxiv, 

 with the publications of the National Museum; and Volumes xx, 

 XXV, and xxxiir, with those of the societies named. I propose to 

 discard these from the series in the futurfe and to make such other 

 restrictions as may^ seem judicious under present conditions. In con- 

 nection with this I have had in mind tlie renewal of an experiment 

 made bj^ your first secretary of placing (in certain exceptional cases) 

 the excess of copies beyond those regularly distributed, in the hands of 

 a publisher. 



With regard to the quarto series of Smithsonian Contributions to 

 Knowledge there will probably be no occasion to suggest any change, 

 at least for the present. 



THE SMITHSONIAN EXCHANGE SYSTEM. 



The " diffusion of knowledge among men," which, next to its "in- 

 crease," is the reason for the existence of this Institution, has been, ever 

 since its foundation, largely carried out by means of the exchange sys- 

 tem, under which all knowledge, but especially new knowledge, as em- 

 bodied in scientific and other literature, is disseminated by the gratu- 

 itous efforts of the Smithsonian. 



The system of exchanges, even in its present condition, involved in 

 lS8G-'87, the shipping of about ten thousand domestic and over forty 

 thousand foreign packages of books, and this has been increased to over 

 twelve thousand domestic and sixty-two thousand foreign packages by 

 the operations of the past year. 



Before the writer's connection with the Smithsonian Institution he 

 had abundant opportunity to know that the regard and confidence in 

 which it is held by all scientific men did not prevent a then general rec- 

 ognition of the fact that its exchange system did not work the benefits 

 contemplated, in that it took a time wliich ordinarily seemed excessive 

 to send a package to Europe or to get one in return. 



The writer having been assigned to the charge of exchanges on his 

 first connection with the Institution as Assistant Secretary, gave early 



