REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 25 



periiuiiK'iitly ideutifiecl with it, and this coiKlition can iiardly he reached 

 unless a niajovity at least of the curatois are ])aid from its ai>]tro|)ria- 

 tions. The permanent assi<;iinient of the curators to tlieir respective 

 departments, with adecpiate compensation and the absencie of e.\trane(»us 

 duties, would materially advance the work of the ^luseuni on its scien- 

 titic side. 



The lack of means to employ a sufticient inunber of assistants in the 

 lower grades causes a largeaniount of minor routine work to fall on the 

 curators, who are capable of rendering services of a higher (diaracter. 

 On account of this condition of affan\s many plans of the greatest iini)()r- 

 tance to the ^Museum are held in abeyance from year to year, or are 

 never consummated. 



Clerical force. — Allusion has been made in my former rei»orts ro the 

 need of additional clerical assistance in the iVIuseum. This need 

 becomes greater every year as the collections increase in magnitude. 

 The salaries paid for clerical work are less than in the executive depart- 

 ments of the Government and elsewhere, and the Museum on many 

 occasions has lost the services of comi)etent clerks, trained in their 

 special work, who have been attracted to other tields of labor by higher 

 compensation. Some of the dei)artments in the Museum are entirely 

 without clerical assistance, and the curators are ol)liged to devote time 

 which could l)e nuu-h Itetter employed, to the simple but necessary 

 work of cataloguing and labelling s]>ecimens, ])rei)aring invoices, and 

 unpacking boxes. 



For the safekee])ing of the collections, whicii have greatly increased 

 in intiinsic \alue as well as extent, a larger nund>er (jf watchmen is 

 necessary. The force is now so small that it is difticult to grant the 

 usual leaves of absence without exposing the collections to danger, 

 ft is also Avith difhculty that the cleanliness of the floors and cases is 

 maintained, on account of the limite<l number of labcu^ers and cleaners 

 which the i)resent appropriation will i)ermit the "Museum to employ. 



DisfrihiUwH of specimens. — The distribution of duplicate material to 

 e<lucational institutions has been continued as far as practicable. This 

 means of dilfusing knowledge is one of the most popular features of the 

 .Museum work, and has been carried on unceasingly for nearly half a 

 century, during which time nearly half a million sjiecimens, embracing 

 mamnnds, fishes, marine invertebrates, birds, shells, rocks, ores, min- 

 erals, and ethnological objects, ha\'e been given to Museums and other 

 educational institutions in the United States, Miiile important ex- 

 changes with similar institutions abroad have residted in nnich good to 

 the Museum. This work, too, is now being seriously liindered, owing 

 to lack of si)ace for the pro[»er handling and separation of the duplicate 

 material, and its classification and arrangement into series for distribu- 

 tion. 



The material distributed during the year consisted chietiy of nuner- 

 als, marine invertebrates, and casts of prehistoric stone implements, 

 and amounted to 32,098 specimeas. 



