18 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



This act, however, did not provide for the printing of any extra copies 

 for distribution by members of Congress or by the Institution. The 

 usual resolution was therefore introduced in the Senate, and passed 

 February 12, 188G. Action on this was not taken, however, by the 

 House of Eepresentatives for five months ; when, on July 17, the Sen- 

 ate resolution was agreed to, as follows : 



Ilesolvcd, ij-c, Tbiit tliere be priuted of the last annual reports of tbo Smithsonian 

 Institution, and of the National Museum, in two octavo volumes, 10,000 extra copies 

 of each, of which 3,000 copies shall be for the use of the Senate, 6,000 copies for the 

 use of the House of Representatives, and 7,000 copies for the use of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



In consequence of the growing imx)ortance of the Xatioual Museum, 

 placed by law under the charge of the Smithsonian Institution, the 

 annual report of the latter for 1881: is for the first time printed in two 

 parts, or separate volumes, the first part confined to the work of the 

 Institution itself, showing its operations, expenditures, and condition ; 

 and the second part to the progress and condition of tlie National 

 Museum. 



The first volume — the report of the Institution proper for 1881 — was 

 not delivered until April, 1886 j and the second volume — the report of 

 the National Museum for the same period, not till several months later. 

 The first volume contains the Journal of Proceedings of the Board of 

 Regents of the Institution at the annual meeting held January 21, 

 1885; the report of the Executive Committee of the Board of Ee- 

 gents, for the year 1884, showing in detail the receipts, appropriations, 

 and expenditures of the Institution and of the Museum, and their 

 present financial condition; the report of the Secretary of the Institu- 

 tion for the year; together with subordinate reports on the operations of 

 international exchanges, i&c. This strictly business portion is followed 

 by the usual '' General Appendix,'Mn which is given a record of the 

 j)rincipal scientific progress for the year, namely, in astronomy by Ed- 

 ward S. II olden ; vulcanology and seismology, by Charles G. Ilockwood ; 

 geography, by F. M. Green ; meteorology, by Cleveland Abbe ; physics, 

 by George F. Barker; chemistry, by H. Carrington Bolton; mineral- 

 ogy? ^y Edward S. Dana ; bibliography of North American invertebrate 

 palaeontology, by J. B. Marcou; zoology, by Theodore Gill; and an. 

 thropology, by Otis T. Mason. In conclusion are given miscellaneous 

 papers relating to the archaeology of Northern and Central America, by 

 Charles E. Vreeland, J. ¥. Bransford, Otis T. Mason, M. T. Leach, 

 Charles M. Smith, and E. T. Wiltheiss. This part forms an octavo vol- 

 ume of 943 pages, including introductory matter and index, and is illus- 

 trated by 7 relief-cut plates and 243 relief-cut figures in the text. 



The second volume, " Eeport of the United States National Museum 

 for the year 1884," contains. Part 1, the report of the assistant director; 

 Part 2, reports of the curators and acting curators ; Part 3, papers rel- 



