REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 189 



teeiitli volume of the Proceediuiis of the National Museum lias been 

 mailed to all addresses upon the regular list for Proceedinfrs volumes, 

 and to more than L'.OOO domestic and foreign libraries. Five hundred 

 copies each of Proceedings Separates, Nos. 887 to Klo, 1H9, 020, !)22 to 

 92(>, !I2S, 92!), U'M, and advance copies of No. 944: have been sent to 

 recipients upon the regular mailing-lists and to persons making special 

 application. Tarts F and G of Bulletin 39, and Bulletin 40, have been 

 distributed, and i)arts A to (1, inclusive, of the former have been sent 

 to all institutions upon the f(n-eign and domestic library lists. Special 

 Bulletin No. 1, entitled ''Life Histories of North American Birds," by 

 Major Charles Bendire, has been distributed. In addition to the regu- 

 lar distribution of ^Museum publications, more than l.r)00 si)eeial send- 

 ings have been made during the year. 



REGISTRATION AND DISTRIP.TTION. 



Mr. S. C. Brown, registrar, states that the total luimber of packages 

 of all kinds received during the year was 29,409. The entries covering 

 these receipts number 2,830, 863 of these packages containing speci- 

 mens for the Museum, the others consisting of exchanges, supplies, 

 etc. The record of outgoing packages for the year embraced 1,315 

 entries, covering 3,309 boxes and 902 packages, of which S^h] contained 

 si)ecimcns from the Museum, sent out as exchanges, gifts, and loans; 

 347 packages of specimens returned to owners, and 396 boxes con- 

 tained material, exhibits, and cases sent to the Madi'id Exposition. 

 During the mouths of March, April, and May the exhibits prepared for 

 the World's Columbian Exposition were shipped to Chicago. There were 

 1,340 packages of exhibits and cases transmitted by freight (twenty- 

 six carloads), while packages containing the most valuable portions 

 of the exhibits were forwarded by express. The storage record shows 

 that 174 packages were stored and ."il were turned over to the curators. 



The total number of accessions, /. e.. lots of specimens received for 

 the Museum during the year, was 1.226. In addition, 516 packages of 

 specimens were received for exanunation and report. 



The records show that 13,581 specimens were sent out, including 

 exchanges and specimens distiibuted to universities and colleges. 



COLLECTIONS TRAXSMl'l'TEI) To EDT'CATIOXAL ESTABLISUMENTS. 



It has for many years been customary to distribute to educational 

 establishments, as far as j^racticable, the duplicate material contained 

 in the collections of the National ]\Iuseum. Owing to the fact that there 

 had accumulated a large number of applications for specimens from 

 colleges and universities throughout the country, the curators of several 

 of the departments were requested to separate into sets, for distribu- 

 tion, such of the duplicates in their charge as might be available for 

 this purpose. The time necessary for work of this character could, 



