296 REPORT OF NATIONAL MCSEUM, 1896. 



daiit fruits. In 1853, three years after his arrival at the Institution, 

 Professor Baird, having worked along the lines laid down by Henry 

 in procuring such series of specimens as were calculated to open up 

 new fields of study and to increase knowledge, was able to report on 

 the wonderful development of the natural-history collections in the 

 following words : 



It may be well to call attention to the fact that it has been the work of but three 

 years to raise this collection from nothing to the front rank among American cabi- 

 nets, exceeding all, perhaps, in the number of new species first brought to light 

 within its limits. Nor has eifort been confined merely to the acquisition of speci- 

 mens, 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 possible 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.' 



At the end of a decade, in 1860, Professor Henry was able to say: 



The scientific material thus collected is very valuable, and, in number and variety 

 of specimens and duplicates to illustrate the natural productions of the North 

 American Continent, far excels any other collection ever made.- 



While the Institution was thus exerting itself to obtain special collec- 

 tions to serve as the basis of research, the Commissioner of Patents 

 was growing each year more desirous of having the use of the space 

 occupied in the Patent Ofitice by the national collections, and appealed 

 frequently to Congress and to the Eegents of the Institution to relieve 

 him of their care. 



In 1857, when Professor Henry brought the matter before them anew, 

 they finally agreed that the transfer of the collections to the Smith- 

 sonian building should take place, but stipulated that an appropria- 

 tion should be made to cover the expense of the transfer and the con- 

 struction of cases in the Smithsonian building, and that the Secretary 

 of the Interior should undertake to obtain from Congress, as before, an 

 annual api^ropriation for the care of the collections. In his report for 

 1856, Secretary Henry said : 



For the present, it may be well to adopt the plan suggested in a late report of the 

 Commissioner of Patents, namely, to remove the museum of the Exploring Expedi- 

 tion, which now fills a large and valuable room in the Patent Office, wanted for the 

 exhibition of models, to the spacious hall of the Institution, at present unoccupied, 

 and to continue, under the direction of the Regents, the appropriation now annually 

 made for the preservation and display of the collections. 



Although the Regents, a few years ago, declined to accept this museum as a gift, 

 yet, since experience has shown that the building will ultimately be filled with 

 objects of natural history belonging to the General Government, which, for the good 

 of science, it will be necessary to preserve, it may be a question whether, in consid- 

 eration of this fact, it would not be well to offer the use of the large room immedi- 



1 Smithsonian Report, 1853, page 54. * Ibid., 1860, page 44. 



