REP(^RT OF ASSISTANT SECRKTARY. 79 



stroiiji' position should !»(■ taken, not only lor the security of the treas- 

 ures in our own custody, but also to encourage otlu'r institutions to 

 care better for their own. It should also be said that a knowledge of 

 the fact that a given museum surrounds its types with the strongest 

 safeguards Avill lead iij.vestigators not connected with i)ublic museums 

 to place their types in its custody, ami that the concentiation of all 

 types in a few large museums will be extremely advantageous to 

 science. 



With these considerations it has been determined to establish certain 

 provisional regulations governing the preservation and loan of type 

 specimens belonging to the National ^Museum. The collaborators of 

 the ^Museum will not be restricted in their study of type specimens 

 further than may be ne<;essary to insure their i)roper care. These 

 regulations are as follows: 



(1) Each curator is respousible for the type specimens in his custody. 



(2) No types will be lent, or allowed to be taken out of the buililing, excejitioiis 



beiug made ouly in the case of a limited number of museums with which 

 arrangements have been made I'or the interchange of type specimens. 



(3) Every type specimen in the National Museum should be distinguished l)y a 



peculiar label.* 



(4) A special book should be kept by each curator in which all the types under his 



custody should be entered under their catalogue numbers, with full data, 

 including a reference to the place of description. 



(5) In the annual report of each department a statement should be made concern- 



ing the condition of the types in its custody. 



(6) When, in the judgment of a curator, it is necessary tor the safety of the types in 



his custody that they be kept in a separate case, arrangements will be made to 

 enable him to do this, and curators are requested to call attention to such 

 necessity whenever it arises. They will be held responsible for injury to type 

 specimens resulting from a failure to take precautionary measures of this kind 



(7) The collection of types in the National ^luseum will be open to inspection aud 



study by any investigator. Curators may, however, impose such restrictions 

 as they deem necessary to protect themselves from losses for which they are by 

 these regulations held responsible, provided that the free use of the material, 

 under the provisions already laid down, is in no way impeded thereby. 



in future discussions of this subject it may be said that <( ti/pein the 

 strictest sense of the word is one which has been used by the author 

 of a systematic paper as the basis for detailed study, and as the 

 loundation of a specitic name. In cases where a considerable number 

 of specimens have been used, it is desirable to separate one or nu:)re as 

 being the jj>'/w<a>-j/ types, while the other specimens which may have 

 been used in the same study for the purjjose of comparison, may be 

 regarded as rolUiteral types. It will not always be necessary to apply 

 the same rules to the use of the collateral types as to the primary types. 

 The importance of a type is, of course, greatly increased when it has 

 been nsed by a succession of authorities, and it is important that the 

 data regarding such use should be carefully recorded. 



*NoTE. — In the department of mammals and of birds a red label is used, and it is 

 suggested that, as far as possible, a similar label should be used in the otherdepart- 

 uieuts. 



