REPORT OF PROFESSOR BAIRD, 



SECRETAEY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FOR 1883. 



To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution: 

 Gentlemen: I have the honor to present herewith the annual report 



of the operations and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the 



year 1883. 



This, in accordance with the usual custom, will include an account of 



the work performed by the Smithsonian Institution proper, and also 



that by the branches of the public service placed by Congress under 



its charge, namely, the National Museum and the Bureau of Ethnology. 



To this will be added a sketch of the work of the United States Fish 



Commission, which is also under my charge. 



THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The principal points of interest to be considered in more or less detail, 

 apart from an account of the regular routine work, are the arrival and 

 inauguration of the memorial statue of Professor Henry, the recon- 

 struction in a fire-proof manner of the eastern end of the Smithsonian 

 building, and the use, under the authority of the Regents, of the halls 

 of the National Museum by the National Academy of Sciences and the 

 American Pharmaceutical Association. 



The general progress of the Institution and its dependencies has been 

 very satisfactory. The funds are in good condition, those of the year 

 being sufficient to meet all its liabilities. The publications of the In- 

 stitution and of the National Museum have been much larger than 

 usual, and constitute an important contribution to theoretical and prac- 

 tical science. The labors of the Bureau of International Exchanges 

 have been more extensive than ever ; the additions to the library have 

 been of unusual magnitude; while in no year of the history of the 

 Institution, with perhaps the single exception of the Centennial year, 

 have the collections received by the National Museum been more varied 

 and important. 



THE HENRY STATUE. 



I am gratified to announce the completion and erection of the statue 

 of Prof. Joseph Henry, ordered by Congress in June, 1880. 

 Mr. Story, the artist, visited Washington last winter, and fully ap- 

 H. Mis. 69 1 l 



