REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 



45 



Number of visitors to the Museum and Smithsonian buildings sinee the opening of the 



former in ISSl, 



Tear. 



1881. 



1882. 



1883 



1884 (balf year) . 



1884-85a 



1885-86 



1886-87 



1887-88 



1888-8Ba 



1890-91 . 

 1891-92 . 



1892-93 a. 



1894-95 



Total. 



a Years of Presidential inaugurations. 

 MATERIAL RECEIVED FOR EXAMINATION AND REPORT. 



It has always been the policy of the Miiseiiiu to examine, free of 

 charge, specimens transmitted to the Museum for determination, no 

 matter by whom or from what locality. This privilege has been 

 appreciated, as is shown by the large number of packages arriving daily 

 with requests for identification. In this way the special knowledge of 

 the curators is freely placed at the disposal of anyone who chooses 

 to seek it. Since the Museum building was opened in 1881, not less 

 than 0,000 persons have taken advantage of this privilege, and not a 

 day passes without receiving similar requests. In the case of geolog- 

 ical material, qualitative determinations only can be made, as the 

 Museum has not facilities for making extended chemical analyses for 

 the public. Its small and insufldcieutly equipped laboratory is barely 

 sufficient for the analytical work which is absolutely necessary in con- 

 nection with the current operations of the geological departments. 



In addition to requests under this head, numerous requests for tech- 

 nical information, unaccompanied by specimens for determination, are 

 constantly received, and these two classes of requests alone necessitate 

 a large amount of correspondence. 



During the year material from all parts of the United States, as well 

 as from British America, West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South 

 America, several countries in Europe, and from Asia and Oceanica, 

 was transmitted to the Museum for examination and report. It is very 

 seldom that any of this material is desired for the collections, and expe- 

 rience has proved that material of a character likely to be wanted, is 

 usually transmitted with a request for its return. When any of these 



