782 EXAMINATION OF PROFESSOR HENRY 



who have suddenly made wealth, and are desirous of dis- 

 tinguishing themselves, and they have, in several cases, 

 founded schools and universities, but it has not yet become 

 fashionable, although I think it will be in time, to found 

 establishments for the advance of science. Professor Bache, 

 with whose name the Commission are no doubt acquainted, 

 left his small fortune of about $50,000 to carry out the same 

 idea as that indicated in the will of Smithson. He was one 

 of the Regents of the Institution, and was so impressed 

 with the importance of the advance of science that lie left 

 his property for making original research, and for publish- 

 ing results; and no man can have a prouder monument, I 

 think, than such an one as Smithson and Bache have erected 

 for themselves. Every year the Smithsonian Institution 

 publishes a volume of transactions entitled " Smithsonian 

 Contributions to Knowledge," and these volumes are dis- 

 tributed in whole or in part to every first-class librar}' on 

 the face of the earth, carrying with them the name of the 

 founder, and constantly reproducing it, not in one part only, 

 but in every part of the world. 



1425. Do you spend any large portion of your revenues 

 in the collection of meteorological observations ? — Perhaps 

 $2,000 or $3,000 a year, and we are endeavoring to get that 

 placed under Government also. 



1426. Are those observations founded by you, or in what 

 way do you favor them ? — The observations are voluntary. 

 We furnish the observers with instruments in some cases. 

 We did at first furnish them altogether with instruments, 

 but this has been discontinued, except with respect to the 

 rain gauges, and during the last year we have distributed 

 about 500 of these. 



There is one part of the operations which I have not suffi- 

 ciently dwelt upon, and that is the system of international 

 exchanges. In order to send the volumes of Smithsonian 

 Contributions over the world the Institution has agents; an 

 agent in this city, an agent in Paris, an agent in Leipsic, an 

 agent in Amsterdam, and another in Norway ; and every 

 year the volumes of the Institution are sent to these agents 

 for distribution, and with them the transactions and pro- 

 ceedings of all the societies of the United States, and also 

 of Canada, and of South America. For example, all the 

 Canadian institutions send copies of their publications to 

 the Institution, and then the Institution distributes them 

 over the world, and receives in return for the several donors 

 the proceedings and transactions of foreign societies. This 

 part of the operations costs about £1,000 sterling a year, but 



