REPORT OP ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 9 



though often withia the general control of some central authority. In 

 France, for instance, most of the museums are under the Ministry of 

 Public Instruction, and in England, to a less extent, under the Depart- 

 ment of Science and Art. 



In the great capitals of Europe the public collections are scattered 

 through various parts of the same city, in museums witli distinctive 

 names and independent in their organizations. Much of the work 

 which should properly be done by such museums is omitted, because 

 no one of them has seen fit to undertake it; while, on the other hand, 

 much labor is duplicated, which is perhaps equally unfortunate — col- 

 lections of similar scope and purpose being maintained in different 

 parts of the same city. One of the chief objections to such division 

 of effort is that much of the value of large collections in any depart- 

 ment is lost by failure to concentrate them where they may be studied 

 and compared side by side. In Washington the national collections 

 are all, without exception, concentrated in one group of buildings. 

 The Army Medical Museum now occuiiies a building side by side with 

 those under the control of the Smithsonian Institution, and this prox- 

 imity, in connection with the long-established policy of cooperation 

 between the two organizations, renders them, for all practical purposes, 

 united in interest. 



Although the appropriations from the public treasury for the main- 

 tenance of the National Museum are small compared with those in 

 several European countries, the value of objects given by private indi- 

 viduals is proportionately large. The actual value of such contribu- 

 tions for ten years past has not, it is estimated, fallen short of $20,000 

 a year, and in some years it has been greater. 



Among important gifts may be mentioned the George Catlin Indian 

 gallery, of inestimable value to the American historian and ethnologist; 

 the collection of North American insects, given by Prof. C. V. Riley; 

 the collection bequeathed in 1887 by the late Dr. Isaac Lea, of Phila- 

 delphia, containing, besides minerals and other objects, about 20,000 

 conchological specimens, and appraised by the State at $10,000; the 

 collections of mollusks, gems, and precious stones presented by the 

 Eev. L. T. Chamberlain and Mrs. Frances Lea Chamberlain; the large 

 and valuable collections of African mammals, birds, etc., made and 

 presented by Dr. W. L. Abbott and Mr, William Astor Chanler; the 

 Bendire and Ralph collections of American birds' eggs, given to the 

 Smithsonian Institution; the Lacoe collection of fossil plants, and 

 the collection of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, for the 

 transfer of which from Philadelphia to Washington a special appro- 

 priation was made by Congress. 



Some exceedingly valuable collections in this country and in Europe 

 have been bequeathed to the Smithsonian Institution, which have not 

 yet come into its possession. It is estimated that witiiin the past fifteen 

 years individuals to the number of more than 2,000 have made gifts to 

 the Museum to the value of $100 each, or more. 



