REPORT ON EXCHANGES. 129 



2. The packages must be enveloped in stout paper and securely pasted 

 or tied with strong twiue; they must be legibly addressed and indorsed 

 with the name of the sender ; they must not exceed one-half of one 

 cubic foot each in bulk; they must have no inclosures of letters; they 

 must contain a blank acknowledgment to be signed and returned by the 

 party addressed, and must be delivered to the Smithsonian Institution 

 free of expense. 



3. On arrival of exchanges for transmission, the parcels are compared 

 with the list of addresses, and, if found correct, acknowledgment is 

 mailed to the sender and each entire sending entered as a single trans- 

 action in the book of incoming exchanges. 



4. The addresses in the invoices and on the parcels are then provided 

 with the numbers corresponding to those in the " List of Foreign Cor- 

 respondents " and the consignees charged with the parcels on their ac- 

 count, which are kept in this office in the form of a card catalogue. 



5. The packages are then laid away in bins, each representing a cer- 

 tain city or cities or a part of them in any given country. 



6. When a sufficient number of parcels have accumulated to justify a 

 sending to any country, invoices are made up from the card catalogue 

 of all parcels for any one society ; this is inclosed in an envelope and 

 sent by mail to the consignee. This invoice is the notification of the 

 sending and enables the consignee to correspond with the agent of the 

 Smithsonian Institution in his country regarding the final disposition 

 of his package. 



7. While the invoices are being made out, the accumulations are taken 

 from the bins and all the parcels for any one society, after being com- 

 pared with the invoice, are wrapped in one or more bundles. 



8. All the bundles for one country are then packed in boxes of uni- 

 form, or nearly uniform, size, the lids fastened with ten screws and the 

 boxes addressed to the agent of the Smithsonian Institution in that 

 country. 



9. The shipment is made through local express and railroad freight 

 to the shipping agent at any given seaport, receipts being taken from 

 the respective carriers. 



10. The shipping agent forwarding the cases mails one bill of lading 

 directly to the agent and duplicate copies to the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, which retains one copy and mails the other to the agent. 



11. The agent distributes the parcels in accordance with the instruc- 

 tions received from the respective consignees, taking for them receipts, 

 which he forwards to the Institution.] 



From the Department of Mate, May 15, 1883, to the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion. 



Silt : I inclose a copy of a dispatch from our minister at Brussels, 

 giving the results of the Brussels conference on international exchanges, 

 H. Mis. G9 9 



