148 THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



United States, besides containing many valuable series from other 

 countries. The collections have been visited by over 7,500,000 per- 

 sons, and the Institution has carried selections of its specimens to every 

 large exhibition held in the United States, and distributed 850,000 

 specimens to colleges and academies, thus powerfully stimulating the 

 growth of museums large and small in every section of the country. 



The publications of the Smithsonian have been in several series, 

 mostly to convey to specialists the results of its original scientific 

 investigations and to thus represent the first half of its fundamental 

 purpose "for the increase of knowledge," and, subordinated/, others 

 to include handbooks and indexes useful to students, and some publi- 

 cations which, while still accurate, contain much information in a style 

 to be understood by any intelligent reader, and thus represent the 

 second half of the founder's purpose for the u diffusion of knowledge.". 

 Many valuable publications, too, have been issued by the Museum and 

 the Bureau of Ethnology, and recently by the Astrophysical Observa- 

 tory. In all, 265 volumes in over 2,000,000 copies and parts have been 

 gratuitously distributed to institutions and private individuals, these 

 works forming in themselves a scientific library in all branches. 



Partly by purchase, but in the main by exchange for these publica- 

 tions, the Institution has assembled a library of over 150,000 volumes. 

 principally of serial publications and the transactions of learned socie- 

 ties, which is one of the notable collections of the world. The major 

 portion of it has been since 1866 deposited in the Library of Congress, 

 with which establishment the most cordial and mutually helpful rela- 

 tions subsist. 



In 1850 Spencer Fullerton Baird, a distinguished naturalist, was 

 elected Assistant Secretary of the Institution. To him the great 

 activity in natural history work was due, and by him the Museum was 

 fostered, he being greatly aided from L875 by a young and enthusiastic 

 naturalist, George Brown Goode. Secretary Baird initiated in the 

 Smithsonian Institution those economic studies which led to the estab- 

 lishment of the United States Fish Commission. 



As another means of diffusing knowledge there was early established 

 the bureau of international exchanges, originally intended simply for 

 the proper distribution of the Smithsonian's publications, but which 

 gradually assumed very wide proportions, becoming no less than an 

 arrangement with learned societies throughout the world to recipro- 

 cally carry free publications of learned societies, or of individual scien- 

 tific men. intended for gratuitous distribution. This system was after- 

 wards taken up by various governments which, through treaties, bound 

 themselves to exchange their own publications in the same way. Since 

 the inauguration of this service, 5,000.000 pounds weight of books and 

 pamphlets have been carried to every portion of America and of the 

 world. The Institution existing not only for America, in which it has 



