58 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



The following statement, arranged geographically, shows the number 

 of "lots'' of specimens sent out: 



Alabama 1 



Arkansas 1 



California 15 



Colorado 4 



Connecticut 4 



Delaware 3 



District of Columbia 15 



Florida 1 



Georgia 3 



Illinois 15 



Indiana 4 



Iowa 23 



Kansas 4 



Kentucky 1 



Louisiana 1 



Maine 7 



Maryland 5 



Massacliusetts 30 



Michigan 



Minnesota 



Missouri 



Montana 



Nebraska 



New Hampshire . . ., 



New Jersey 1 



New York 42 



North Carolina 5 



Ohio 4 



Oregon 1 



Pennsylvania 14 



Rhode Island 1 



South Carolina . 3 



Tennessee 1 



Texas 3 



Utah 2 



Vermont 1 



Virginia 3 



Washington 2 



Wisconsin 6 



Wyoming 1 



Foreign countries : 



Africa 2 



Argentina 1 



Australia 1 



Austria 2 



Canada 3 



Denmark 1 



England 10 



France 4 



Germany 4 



2 



1 



2 



2 



1 



3 



1 



2 

 1 



India 



Italy 



Japan 



Netherlands. 



Norway 



Russia 



Scotland 



Sweden 



Switzerland . 



Total 288 



Several exchanges have been conducted with institutions and indi- 

 viduals in foreign countries, resulting in the acquisition of some valua- 

 ble material. 



It is questionable whether this branch of the Museum work is. taken 

 as a whole year by year, very i)rofitable. It is difficult to arrange satis- 

 factorily the details of an exchange with an establishment several thou- 

 sands of miles away. The necessity of determining one uncertain point 

 may cause a delay of several months, during which tiu)e other oi)por- 

 tunities for utilizing the material intended for exchange may have 

 arisen. Valuations placed on specimens vary, and what may seem to 

 us a generous offer on our part may be regarded as far from being an 

 equivalent to the other party. In certain cases it is impossible to fur- 

 nish first class specimens, and the failure to do so, altliough explana- 

 tion may have been made in the correspondence leading to the exchange, 

 has not unfrequently i^laced this Museum in an undesirable and unde- 

 served position. Furthermore, it seldom happens that the ^establish- 

 ment with which an exchange is being conducted is willing to part 

 with its best material, especially if sending first. Specimens which 



