REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 17 



and has been extended back to include all letters written or received 

 since January 1, 1892. 



All corresjwndence prior to tliis current correspondence file has been 

 placed in the archives, and the letters that have been received between 

 1882 and 1890 have recently been bound and indexed, comjjleting the 

 series of indexes to correspondence. 



Reports, memoranda, and data collected on various subjects not prop- 

 erly belonging to the correspondence are preserved in a miscellaneous 

 file and properly indexed. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



The Naples table. — The anticipations in regard to t\\Q Naples table, 

 which, as I have stated in the report for 1893, has been leased for a 

 period of three years upon the petition of the biologists and universi- 

 ties of the United States, have been apparently justified. 



Numerous apiilications for the occupancy of the table have been 

 received and considered. The following, being favorably reported by 

 the advisory committee, were approved by me for the present year: 



Mr. D. G. Fairchild, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 received the appointment for October, November, and December, 1893. 



Dr. W. M. Wheeler, University of Chicago, was appointed for Jan- 

 uary, February, and March, 1891. 



Dr. H. 0. Bumpus, Brown University, apj)ointed for February, 

 March, and April, 1894. 



Prof. Lewis Murbach received an assignment of three mouths, 

 beginning June 20, 1894. 



Desiring to give to all investigators an equal opportunity to avail 

 themselves of the advantage of a seat at the Smithsonian table, it has 

 been decided that final action upon an application may not be taken 

 more than six months in advance of the date for which the table is 

 desired, and that should more than one application be filed for the 

 same period, in cases of presumably equal merit, the assignment shall 

 be made according to priority of application. It has also been deter- 

 mined that no appointment shall be made for a period of more than 

 six months, although an occupant may apply for extension of time or 

 for reappointment at some future date. 



Students who are appointed to the table for the full term of six 

 months are desired to report to me at the close of each three months of 

 their occupancy; those appointed for a shorter period are expected to 

 make such report at the close of their assignment. 



In several instances the time desired by an applicant overlaps that 

 of another, as is the case in February and March of 1894, but through 

 the ready courtesy of Dr. Dohrn, director of the station, who kindly 

 ofi^ered to arrange for the accommodation of more than one occupant of 

 the table at the same time, it has thus far been found possible to make 

 the appointments without disappointing a student on this account. 

 SM 94 2 



