THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 53 



done previously ; the acquisition of several additional rooms lias, how- 

 ever, supplied all the accommodations at present necessary. Nothing 

 satisfactory can be done with the collection of fishes, now filling 4,000 

 jars, until the erection of cases in the main hall shall furnish a suit- 

 able place of exhibition. 



During the past year my own leisure time has been chiefly em- 

 ployed in working up the mammalia of the collection, and tlie mono- 

 graphing of the genera has been completed, with the exception of a 

 few families. 



Particular attention has been paid to the study of the skulls and 

 skeletons of the species, for which the large collections of the Institu- 

 tion affords unrivalled facilities. C. Girard has also prepared several 

 zoological monographs. 



C — Present Condition of the Museum. 



The richness of the museum of the Smithsonian Institution at the 

 present time must be a source of national pride to all who are desirous 

 of seeing at Washington a satisfactory exposition of the natural his- 

 tory of North America. No collection in the United States, nor in- 

 deed in the world, can pretend to rival it in this respect. Every part 

 of our continent, from the British line on the north to central Mexico 

 on the south, has abundant representatives here of its peculiar inhab- 

 itants, while the collocation of specimens of one species from many 

 different localities furnishes materials towards determinations of geo- 

 graphical distribution of inestimable value. Thus of the known spe- 

 cies of North American vertebrata there is scarcely one not already in 

 our possession, while of nondescripts we have scores. Among the 

 mammals alone it is probable that the final result of a critical exami- 

 nation of the specimens will be the addition of over fifty species to the 

 list, given recently by Messrs. Audubon and Bachman, most of them 

 being new to science. 



Of North American reptiles but two or three of those described by 

 Holbrook are wanting, while his aggregate has been more than 

 doubled. 



The following table will illustrate the statistics of the alcoholic col- 

 lections at the present time, while the addition of similar data for 

 1851 will show the increase in four years. Five years is the entire 

 period during which the collections generally of the Institution have 

 been forming ; and when it is considered that no purchases whatever 

 have been made, save of an occasional specimen in the city market, 

 it must be admitted that few Institutions, even those under the direct 

 patronage of wealthy governments, can present such results. Nearly 

 every specimen, too, has been collected at the express instance of the 

 Institution. 



