43 



[ 108] 



Many of the scientific bodies of this country embraced the opportunity 

 offered to them of sending their memoirs to European societies. The diffi- 

 culties of scientific intercourse between the Institutions of Europe and 

 America have in many instances been very great, resulting either in great 

 delay in exchanging publications, or in an utter failure of the latter to reach 

 their destination. The system adopted by the Smithsonian Institution is lia- 

 ble to no such objections, and the offer of its benefits to other institutions 

 was gladly accepted. The principal bodies accepting the invitj^tion were 

 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston; the Boston Natural 

 History Society ; the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences ; the United 

 States Coast Survey ; the Washington Obj-ervatory, and others. The Com- 

 missioner of Indian Affairs, at the instance of the authors and of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, took the same occasion to send copies of the His- 

 tory of the Indian tribes to about one hundred and fifty institutions in 

 Europe, taken from the Smithsonian list. Numerous documents of scientific 

 interest published by Congress were procured through the Senate document 

 room, from members of Congress who relinquished their claim to extra 

 copies, and in other ways. The Senate also assigned to the Institution 

 three hundred copies of Foster and Whitney's report on the Copper lands of 

 Lake Superior for foreign distribution. It is to be hoped that this act of 

 liberality to scientific institutions abroad may be repeated in the case of all 

 public documents of general interest. 



The entire number of different addresses borne by the packages, five 

 hundred in number, amounted to two hundred and ninety-one, of which 

 two hundred and one were of institutions in correspondence with the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. The packages for France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, 

 were sent for distribution to Hector Bossange, of Paris, and amounted to 

 eighty-five. The remainder of continental Europe, except Greece and 

 Turkey, was supplied with three hundred and thirteen packages, through 

 Dr. John G. Fliigel, United States consul, Leipsic ; England, Scotland and 

 Ireland, eighty-four ])ackages, through Henry Stevens, London. Hon. 

 George P. Marsh, minister resident at Constantinople, took charge of the 

 copies for Greece, Turkey and Northern Africa. The parcels for the rest 

 of Africa and for Asia were forwarded through the American Board of 

 Foreign Missions, Boston, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, New 

 York, and the American Colonization Society, Washington. 



The whole mass occupied forty boxes of about six cubic feet capacity 

 each, besides several separate bundles, and weighed 7920 pounds. These 

 were distributed as follows : 



To whom sent. 



Dr. Fliigel... 

 n. Bossange. 

 Mr. Stevens . 

 Others 



Total 



Institutions. 



81 

 55 

 47 



18 



201 



No. of 

 pcircels. 



313 

 85 

 84 

 18 



500 



No. of 

 boxes. 



20 

 10 



40 



Cubic ca- 

 pacity. 



Feet. 



120 

 52f 

 42 

 25i 



240 



Weight. 



Lhs. 

 3, 960 

 1,738 

 1,336 

 836 



7,920 



