10 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



Amoug importaut gifts may be meutioned the George Catlin Indian 

 gallery, of inestimable value to the American liistorian and ethnologist; 

 the collection of North American insects, given by Prof. C. V. Riley; 

 the collection bequeathed in 1887 by the late Dr. Isaac Lea, of Phila- 

 delphia, containing, besides minerals and other objects, about 20,000 

 conchological specimens, and appraised by the State at $10,000; the 

 collections of mollusks, gems, and precious stones presented by the Rev. 

 L. T. Chamberlain and Mrs. Frances Lea Chamberlain; the large and 

 valuable collections of African mammals, birds, etc., made and presented 

 by Dr. W. L. Abbott and Mr. William Astor Chanler; the Bendire and 

 Ralph collections of American birds' eggs, given to the Smithsonian 

 Institution ; the Lacoe collection of fossil plants, and the collection of 

 the American Institute of Mining Engineers, for the transfer of which 

 from Philadelphia to Washington a special appropriation was made by 

 Congress. 



Some exceedingly valuable collections in this country and in Europe 

 have been bequeathed to the Smithsonian Institution, which have not 

 yet come into its possession. It is estimated that within the past fifteen 

 years individuals to the number of more than 2,000 have made gifts to 

 the Museum to the value of $100 each or more. 



The National Museum now contains nearly three and a half millions 

 of objects. 



The intrinsic value of such collections as these can not well be ex- 

 pressed in figures. There are single specimens worth hundreds, others 

 worth thousands of dollars, and still others which are unique and jirice- 

 less. Many series of specimens, which owe their value to their com- 

 pleteness and to the labor Avhich has been expended on them, can not 

 be replaced at any price. The collections at a forced sale would realize 

 more than has been expended on them, and a fair appraisal of their 

 value would amount to several millions of dollars. 



One of the most striking features in the affairs of the Museum is the 

 manuer in which its collections are increasing. In 1895 the number of 

 specimens is almost eighteen times as great as in 1882. 



In the direct purchase of specimens but little money has been spent, 

 less perhaps in fifty years than either France, England, Germany, or 

 Austria expends in a single year on similar objects. The entire 

 Museum is the outgrowth of Government expeditions and expositions, 

 and of the gifts prompted by the generosity of the American people. 



As nn'ght be supposed, a considerable proportion of the objects given 

 are duplicates of material already on hand, and although these contri- 

 butions can, with the utmost advantage, be used for distribution to 

 museums and schools, they do not materially increase the a alue of the 

 collections for study ])y specialists and for general educational pur- 

 poses. 



The need of a larger fund for the purchase of specimens is yearly be- 

 coming more manifest. Exceedingly important material is constantly 



