VI CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Fiuauces 5 



Gradual depreciation of income .'S 



Just claims on the Government 6 



Present total eudowment 6 



Appropriations under charge of the Institution 7 



Estimates for the next fiscal year 7 



Correspondence relative to the assignment of Museum appropriations 8 



Proposed transfer of Museum appropriations to the Institution 12 



Appropriation for international exchanges 12 



Appropriation for preservation of collections, etc 13 



Appropriation for North American Ethnology 13 



Buildings 14 



Necessity for additional Museum accommodations 14 



Sanitary condition of the Museum Building 15 



Bills introduced into the Senate for new building 15 



Estimated cost of new building, $iOO,000 , 17 



Senate bill for fire-proofing west wing of Institution 17 



Pire-proofing west connecting range, completed 17 



Expense of same 18 



Researches 19 



Astro-physical observatory suggested 19 



PhiIoso})hical ajiparatus on hand 19 



Preparation of a work, by Prof. E. D. Cope, on the reptiles and batrachians 



of North America 20 



Explorations 20 



Investigations in Japan, by Mr. Romyn Hitchcock 21 



Mineralogical explorations 21 



Explorations in natural history of the islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 21 



Publications 21 



Classes of publication 21 



Expense of contributions to the Annual Report 22 



The science record unsatisfactory from delay 23 



Act of Congress restricting illustrative matter 23 



Publications of the Museum and Bureau of Ethnology 24 



Distribution of publications 24 



Rules and conditions of distribution 25 



Economy of publication demanded 25 



Proposed restriction of the Miscellaneous Collections 26 



Exchange system of the Institution 26 



Need for more expeditious transmission 27 



Extension of the sei-vice for the Government 27 



Origin of this service in 1807 27 



Relative cost of this service 28 



Increased appropriations desired 29 



Causes of delay in foreign receipts 30 



Tabular statement of exchanges for the fiscal year 31 



Estimated cost of fast freight 32 



Preparation of new exchange lists of scientific periodicals 33 



Experienced bibliograi)her8 consulted 34 



Additional titles of periodicals furnished 35 



Library of the Institution , 37 



Extent of deposit in the Library of Congress 37 



Resignation of former librarian and appointment of new one 38 



New regulations for the Library 39 



