8 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



((i) :\Iany new methods of installation have been developed by experi- 

 ment in the Museum, and the best and most available employed else- 

 where have been adopted. Our new methods are being applied in 

 many similar establishments at home and abroad. 



(7) The art of taxidermy and the making of museum models has been 

 advanced and dignified by the policy adopted in the treatment of the 

 experts in the employ of the Museum. 



(8) Science has been forwarded by the publication of some thousands 

 of i)apers describing the materials in the Museum, while the work of 

 specialists in the production of these papers has greatly enhanced the 

 vidue of the national collections. 



(9) Popular educational work of unquestioned value has been accom- 

 plished by participation in the great expositions in Philadelphia, Berlin, 

 London, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Louisville, Madrid, and Chicago. 



(10) Hundreds of thousands of named specimens have been distrib- 

 uted to other museums and to colleges and schools. 



EXPECTATIONS OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 



That the United States must have a National Museum worthy of the 

 dignity of the nation is self evident. 



Every country has a museum or group of museums in its capital 

 city — centers of scientific and educational activity — the treasure-house 

 of the people, filled with memorials of national triumphs in the fields 

 of science, art, and industrial progress.' 



These are legitimate objects of national pride, for upon the character 

 of its museums and libraries, intelligent persons, visiting a country, very 

 properly base their judgment as to the nature and degree of the civili- 

 zation of the people. 



Washington may without question be made the seat of one of the 

 greatest museums in the world. It may perhaps be neither practicable 

 nor desirable to gather together in this city extensive collections of 

 ancient media'val art, but a representative series of such objects will 

 undonl)tedly grow up which will tend to educate the jmblic taste, 

 promote the study of the elements of art and the history of civiliza 

 tion, and forward the arts of design. This having been accomplished, 

 attention should be directed mainly toward the exhibition of the geol- 

 (»gy and natural history of America and its natural resources, to the 

 preservation of memorials of its aboriginal inhabitants, and the encour- 

 agement of the arts and industries of our own people. 



It is evident that the National Museum of the United States will of 

 necessity have features peculiar to itself, developed in response to the 

 |)eculiar needs of the peojde of this continent. It should be remem- 

 bered that the national collections of every principal European nation 

 are divided into several groups, each under separate administration, 



'Most of tho older nations have museums devoted to their military achievements 

 uiul triumphs, but our country has no need or desire to enter into this held of work. 



