16 KEPOET OF THE SECRETARY. 



same, and the present reputation and generally acknowledged success 

 of the Institution are the result of this undeviating course. 



It is a matter of congratulation to be able to announce to the Board 

 the continued prosperous financial condition of the Institution. The 

 investment of the extra fund in State stocks has proved to be judicious. 

 They now yield the Institution an annual income of upwards of seven 

 thousand dollars. It may also be mentioned in this place, as a fact of 

 interest to the friends of the Institution, that from the report of the 

 governor of Arkansas it appears that the original fund received by 

 the United States^ from Smithson's bequest, and lent by the govern- 

 ment to that State, will in due time be repaid, and that the general 

 government will in no respect be a loser by having accepted the 

 charge and administration of this trust. 



The income of the Institution being payable periodically on the 1st 

 January and 1st July, it is obvious that the current expenses, which 

 are continuous, cannot all be met as they accrue. An effort has there- 

 fore been made for the last two years so to curtail the expenditure as 

 to accumulate in the treasury a half year's interest. This object will 

 be full/ accomplished during the next year. For the future, there- 

 fore, we shall be enabled to pay cash for printing, paper, &c., and 

 thus save a considerable per centage on the cost of these articles. 



Comparatively few repairs have been required during the past year 

 on the building, though the changes which have been necessary to 

 accommodate the increasing operations of the Institution have involved 

 considerable expense. The corridors, which were entirely open to the 

 northwest wind, have been enclosed with glazed sashes; a large amount 

 of space has thus been rendered available, and a considerable portion 

 of the interior of the buildi; 'g. protected from the inclemency of the 

 weather. 



The heating of the building is a heavy item of expense, and must 

 continue to be so until double windows can be furnished, particularly 

 on the north side, and a more economical as well as efficient method 

 of warming be adopted. The whole length of the building is four 

 hundred and fifty feet, one-third of which, at least, is occupied by a 

 series of windows, through which the heat of the air within so rapidly 

 escapes by contact with the cold glass that the cost of inner windows 

 would be saved in the course of a few years. 



The smaller rooms are mostly heated by stoves, and the larger ones 

 by furnaces. Estimates have been procured for „ ubstituting hot water 



