REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 45 



EXCHANGES. 



The system of international exchanges organized by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution a few years ago continues to be highly successful, 

 and is rapidly developing to an enormous magnitude. Every year 

 witnesses a great increase in the amount of material transmitted 

 abroad and received in return, and it is not too much to say that any 

 abrupt termination of the undertaking on the part of the Institution 

 would be felt as a great public calamity. Few, if any, American 

 institutions of note, publishing transactions or reports, have any 

 other medium of exchanging them with foreign correspondents. 



The details of operations in this department will be found in the 

 following tables, all of which exhibit a marked increase as compared 

 with 1857 : 



A — Beceipt of books, dc, hy exchange in 1858. 



Volumes — Octavo .- 553 



Quarto 156 



Folio 14 



723 



Parts of volumes and pamphlets : 



Octavo 1,187 



Quarto 451 



Folio 57 



1,695 



Maps and charts... 122 



Total 2,54G 



