REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 11 



with which the spoeimons were obtained will l)c found (^stnvhcre in 

 this rciport. 



While the scientific staff is constantly occupied with the routine 

 duties involved in the care and installation of the collections, a num- 

 ber of its meiii])ers have found time for research work and the prepara- 

 tion of important scientific papers. Persons not belonging- to the 

 staff and in part attached to other bureaus of the Govermnent have 

 been given facilities for study, and specimens in many groups have 

 been s(Mit away to specialists, both in this country and al)road, for 

 examination and report. In this wa}^ the collec^tions are ])eing worked 

 up and made known through the medium of the Museum publications, 

 though not nearly so fast as they are added to. 



PUBLIC BENEFITS OF THE MUSEUM. 



The primary object of the Museum is to store and safeguard the 

 Government and other collections confided to its care and to arrange 

 and classify these collections so as to facilitate their study. This has 

 been interpreted to include the display of such parts of the collections 

 as may instruct the general public, the granting to properly qualified 

 students of facilities for working up materials, and the preparation of 

 sets of duplicate specimens for distribution to the educational institu- 

 tions of higher grade throughout the country. 



A public museum is, of course, chiefly known through its accessi- 

 bility to the visiting public, and a very large part of the work of the 

 National Museum consists in the proper arrangement of carefully 

 selected specimens in attractive cases with suitable labels attached. 

 The force necessary to guard the collections and to keep the Iniilding 

 open and in presentable condition uses up a large share of its energy 

 and funds, and the American public is not slow to take advantage of 

 the opportunity offered. During the past year 192,471 persons visited 

 the Museum 1)uilding and 116,912 the Smithsonian building. It is not 

 possible to fairly institute a comparison between the num])er of visit- 

 ors to the National Museum at Washington and to great public museums 

 elsewhere, whether national or municipal, since the latter are usually 

 situated in the very largest cities in each State or country, with vast 

 populations whence visitors may l)e drawn, while in Washington there 

 is a comparatively small population, and it can be safely estimated that 

 a very large percentage of the visitors to the Museum are from places 

 other than the Capital, so that the influence of the Museum extends to 

 every part of the country. 



Of almost equal importance as to results, though restricted to a 

 small number, is the policy of rendering the collections accessible to 

 properly accredited investigators and students. The Smithsonian 

 Institution from the outset never engaged directly in teaching in any 

 form, assuming that the many educational institutions throughout the 



