60 



REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



tutiou on account of iuteruational exchanges, under date of July 1, 1894, covering 

 the fiscal year immediately preceding, were as follows: 



RECEIPTS. 



Direct appropriation by Congress $14, 500. 00 



Repayments to the Smithsonian Institution i'rom United States Goveru- 



luent departments 1, 729. 22 



State institutions 56. 75 



From other sources 379. 98 



Total 16,665.95 



EXPENSES. 



Salaries and compensations 



Freight 



Packing boxes 



Printing 



Postage 



Stationery and Hupplie.s , 



Total disbursements 



Balance to meet outstanding liabilities June 30, 1804 . 



Total 



Trom specific 



Congres- 

 sional appro- 

 priations. 



$12, 853. 66 



1, 138. 60 



333. 00 



12.00 



60.00 



77.32 



14, 474. 58 

 25.42 



From 



other 



sources 



$3,110.31 



17, 610. 31 



The foregoing table shows that the entire amount received from Government 

 bureaus and other soui'ces was $2,165.95, making the sum practically available for 

 the specific jturpose of exchanges $16,665.95, while the expenses amounted to 

 $17,610.31, leaving a deficiency of $944.36. 



An estimate for the entire expense of the service of $23,000 was submitted in 

 October, 1892, this sum being intended to include in a single appropriation various 

 small items in different appropriation bills, and also an item of $2,000 to cover the 

 expense of an immediate exchange of parliamentary documents with the countries 

 entering into the treaty at Brussels in 1886. 



I would again call attention to the fact that no appropriation has been made for 

 this latter purpose. 



CORUESPO.NDENTS. 



As mentioned in previous reports, it became necessary in the latter part of 1891 to 

 provide for an addition to the series of " ledger" cards upon which were entered all 

 packages sent or received from a given society or individual. A plan was approved 

 by which the cards were much reduced in size, the bulk of the older cards having 

 already become a matter of serious consideration. 



The new and smaller ledger cards were begun on January 1, 1892, and since that 

 date all the transactions have been entered upon them. The abbreviation of the 

 records and their greater convenience in handling proved to be of the utmost service 

 when it became necessary to reduce the clerical force in the office, and it is only by 

 such abbreviation of the records and by the introduction of several minor labor- 

 saving devices that it has been at all possible to prevent the Avork from falling 

 irretrievably behind. 



The number of new ledger cards on June 30, 1893, was 16,340, and on June 30, 1894, 

 20,223. This difterence of 3,883 represents the increase in the number of new socie- 

 ties or individuals during the year making use of the service, while the entire num- 



