REPORT OF THE SECRETARY, 25 



COKKESPONDENOE. 



The correspondence of the Institution, next to its publicji- 

 tions, furnish, perhaps, the most eli'ectual means of diffusino- 

 knowledge concerning" matters of purely scientilic interest, 

 as well as of dis.seminating information of a popular nature 

 on subjects coming within the scope of the Institution's work. 

 The inquiries which come to the Institution from all parts of 

 the world eml)race almost every conceiva})le topic, and the 

 major portion of the correspondence rehites not to matters of 

 a routine nature, but to widely diversified subjects of scientific 

 investigation. Thus the expenditure of a ver}' consideral)le 

 amount of time and labor is necessitated, as it is endeavored 

 in every instance to respond as fully as possible to the requests 

 for information, though where the subject of inquirj' is 

 clearly without the scope of the Institution, the communica- 

 tions are referred to the l)ranch of the Government service 

 having special cognizance of the matter or matters to which 

 they relate. Where the inquiries have particular reference 

 to the activities of the bureaus administered under the Insti- 

 tution, the}' are referred to the ])ureau concerned in each 

 case for attention and answer, unless they involve matters of 

 policy, in which event they are returned for the Secretarj^'s 

 action. 



The plan adopted in 1S90 of registering such letters as are 

 of sufficient importance to make a record of them desirable, 

 has been contijuied in operation during the yeai' and has con- 

 stituted an efficient check against their loss or temporary 

 misplacement. 



The increasing demand for pul)lications of the Institution 

 has necessitated an increase in the amoiuit of correspondence 

 relating to their distribution, though this has ))een consider- 

 ably reduced by the emplo^'ment of printc^l forms. Aside 

 from the letters sent out relating to the operations of its sev- 

 eral l)ureaus, special correspondence has been conducted on 

 aerodromic matters and in the administratioii of the Hodgkins 

 fund. Since the Smithsonian bureaus were put under the 

 civil-service law and rules in July, 1896. there has been a 

 steady increase in the amount of correspondence relating to 

 civil-service matters, and this has added perceptibh^ to the 

 labors of the Institution. 



