THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 55 



been the work of but three years to raise this collection from nothing 

 to the front rank among American cabinets, exceeding all perhaps in 

 the number of new species first brought to light within its limits. Nor 

 has effort been confined merely to the acquisition of specimens, but to 

 their concentration in mass so as to supply all working naturalists with 

 the materials of research. As already stated, applications for such 

 assistance are constantly being received, and always met with all pos- 

 sible promptness ; so that scarcely any natural history monograph or 

 memoir of any extent has been published in this country within a year 

 or two which has not been indebted in this way to the Institution. From 

 the care, too, taken to keep separate all the localities, however near 

 together, of any species, the collection affords information in reference 

 to the geographical distribution of species of the very highest value. 



WORK DONE IN NATURAL HISTORY. 



The labor of unpacking and assorting collections as received, and 

 labelling and recording the different specimens, has of course been 

 very great, requiring much more time than the limited portion left 

 after discharging the other duties assigned to me. In this, however, I 

 have been assisted very greatly by Mr. Charles Girard, who has given 

 much time and attention to this department, without any compensation 

 for his services. By his help, I have been enabled to keep up with 

 the details of labor necessary to give these collections tlieir proper 

 scientific value. 



Much has been done during the year towards distributing duplicate 

 specimens of the Smithsonian collection among the other cabinets of the 

 country. In no way can the Institution be of more use in elevating the 

 standard of natural science than in distributing carefully labelled suites 

 of specimens to points where, from lack of libraries or other causes, 

 the means of accurate identification are wanting. For remote regions of 

 country, this mode of assistance is of especial benefit, and arrangements 

 have already been entered into, in several cases, to receive miscellaneous 

 collections and to return them properly labelled, with the addition of 

 such other species as can convenicntl}' be spared. Parties already 

 in such connexion with the Smithsonian Institution, or about entering 

 upon it, are found in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illi- 

 nois, Missouri, New Orleans, and North and South Carolina. 



A collection of duplicates of North American serpents and Astaci 

 has been presented to the Philadelphia Acadern}' of Natural Sciences, 

 including types of many new species published by the Institution. To 

 the New York State Cabinet of Natural History was also sent a large 

 collection of reptiles and fishes of New York, embracing many species 

 not previously received there. 



The cataloguing of the collections of the Institution progresses as 

 rapidly as my other duties will allow. One way in which a museum 

 may be very useful to those unable to visit it personally, is by publish- 

 ing catalogues of the specimens contained therein. If these exhibit 

 original descriptions of the species, and especially if the list be made 

 complete by enumerating also the species not contained in the collection, 

 they become of great value to investigators, and may readily serve as 



