PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OF SMITHSON'S BEQUEST. 957 



value. The preparation of these, however, should be in- 

 trusted to none but persons of character and reputation, 

 and should be subjected to a revision by competent and 

 responsible judges before they are given to the public. 

 They may be presented in the form of reports on the exist- 

 ing state of knowledge relative to a given subject, and may 

 sometimes consist of memoirs and expositions of particular 

 branches of literature and science, translated from foreign 

 languages. The reports and treatises of the institution, sold 

 at a price barely sufficient to pay the expenses of printing, 

 will find their way into every school in our country, and 

 will be used not as first lessons for the pupil, but as sources 

 of reliable information for the teacher. 



The second section of the programme gives, so far as they 

 have been made out, the details of the part of the plan of 

 organization directed by the act of Congress establishing 

 the institution. The two plans, namely, that of publication 

 and original research, and that of collections of objects of 

 nature and art, are not incompatible, and may be carried on 

 harmoniously with each other. The only eft'ect which they 

 will have on one another is that of limiting the operation of 

 each, on account of the funds given to the other. Still, with a 

 judicious application and an economical expenditure of tho 

 income, and particularly by rigidly observing the plan of 

 finance suggested by Dr. Bache, in the construction of the 

 building, much good may be effected in each of the two 

 branches of the institution. To carr}^ on the operations of 

 the first a working library will be required, consisting of the 

 past volumes of the transactions and proceedings of all the 

 learned societies in every language. These are the original 

 sources from which the most important principles of the 

 positive knowledge of our day have been drawn. We shall 

 also require a collection of the most important current litera- 

 ture and science fortheuse of the collaborators of the reports; 

 most of these, however, will be procured in exchange for 

 the publications of the institution, and therefore will draw 

 but little from the library fund. For other suggestions rela- 

 tive to the details of the library, I would refer you to the 

 annexed communication from Professor Jewett, assistant 

 secretary, acting as librarian. (See Appendix N"o. 1.) 



The collections of the institution, as far as possible, should 

 consist of such articles as are not elsewhere to be found in 

 this country, so that the visitors at Washington may see new 

 objects, and the spirit of the plan be kept up, of interesting 

 the greatest possible number of individuals. A perfect col- 

 lection of all objects of nature and of art, if such could be 



