REPORT OF PROFESSOR BAIRD, 



SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, FOR 1881. 



To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution : 



Gentlemen : I have the houor to present herewith a report of tlio 

 operations and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 

 1881. 



As heretofore, in addition to matters pertaining strictly to the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, I give an account of the operations of the National 

 Museum and of the Bureau of Ethnology, which l)y Congress have been 

 l)laced under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, as also of 

 those of the United States Fish Commission, of which your secretary is 

 the chief officer. 



THP] SMITHSOmAN INSTITUTION 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The operations of the Smithsonian Institution, in their various sub- 

 divisions, have been conducted during the year with the usual success, 

 and, I trust, to the satisfaction of all interested. 



While, as will be seen, the scale and magnitude of the work accom- 

 plished have in many cases been greatly increased in comparison with 

 the work of previous years, at the same time, by a more thorough or- 

 ganization and the increasing efficiency of assistants by long experi- 

 ence, the expenditures have not been augmented. Indeed, in no 

 ])revious year of the history of the Institution have the funds shown a 

 better condition at the close of the calendar year. 



The work of the department of exchanges has never been so large, 

 while the explorations and researches that have been prosecuted have 

 been of very great interest and importance. 



The new organization of the National Museum has been successfully 

 established, and it is now in satisfactory working ord(>r. The Ethno- 

 logical Bureau, under the charge of Major Powell, has accomplished a 

 great deal towards the solution of interesting problems connected with 

 the science of anthropology, and the labors of the Fish Commission have 

 largely increased in extent as well as in economical importance. 



The rresiclcnfs Inaugural Reception^ March 4, 1881. — The anticipation 

 of the completion of the new building of the National Museum by the 4th 

 S. Mis. 100.^ 1 



