18 REPORT OF NATIONAL MTJSEUM, 1893. 



Tbe character of the National Museum is fundameiitallj' aftected by its 

 connectiou with the Siuithsouiau Institution, its dependence upon Con- 

 gress for appropriations annually, and the necessity, under existing 

 laws, of its caring for all collections belonging to the Government. 



Of the connection of the Museum with the Smithsonian Institution, 

 it should be said that it is in the highest degree advantageous. It 

 should be borne in mind that it is essentially a Smithsonian museum, 

 since, especially in lis earlier history, the Institution expended large 

 sums of money in aiding explorations, with the distinct j^urpose of 

 increasing the collections in certain directions, while of late years it 

 has deposited all the valuable gifts and bequests of specimens it has 

 received. It has had in addition, for nearly half a century, the use of 

 the larger portion of the Smithsonian building, and what is of para- 

 mount importance, the guidance and iutluence of the officers of the 

 Institution, and the very valuable assistance of its numerous corre- 

 spondents. 



C— THE WORK OF THE MUSEUM IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. 



The work of the Museum, if it only performed the functions of an 

 institution for scientific investigation, would be of sufficient value to 

 justify its maintenance and extension. The Museum, however, not 

 only performs these functions, but also does a very great deal to ren- 

 der the resources of science available to the public at large. 



Prof. Huxley's definition of a museum is that it is "a consultative 

 library of objects." 



The National Museum is a consultative library for the scientific man, 

 and it is something more. It aims to be an agency for the instruction 

 of the people of the whole country, and to keep especially in mind the 

 needs of those whose lives are not occupied in the study of science. 



In a recent address befm-e the American Historical Association, I 

 attempted to explain the idea of our work as follows: 



(1) That public institutions of learning are not intended for the few, 

 but for the enlightenment and education of the masses. 



(2) That the public has a right to full participation in the results of 

 the work of the scientific establishments which they are helping to 

 maintain. 



(3) That one of the chief duties of the officers of these institutions 

 is to provide means by which such results may be presented in an 

 attractive as well as an intelligible fin-m. 



No scientific institution is more thoroughly committed to the work of 

 the difiusion of knowledge than is the Smithsonian Institution, and no 

 department of its activity has greater possibilities in this respect than 

 is the Natiimal ^Museum. 



The ])enefits of the INIuseum are extended not only to the si)ecialists 

 in its laboratories and to the hundreds of thousands of visitors from aii 

 parts of the United States w^ho pass its doors each year, but to local 



