8 ORGANIZATION OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



The preservation of material is accomplished by means of the vigi- 

 lance of the curators and the skill of the preparators. 



XII. 



^ew material is acquired {a) in accordance with law, from the various 

 government surveys and expeditions; {b) by gift from individuals, from 

 other institutions, and from foreign governments; (c) by exchange for 

 its duplicate specimens or publications; {d) by the efforts of officers of 

 the Museum, who make collections in connection with their regular 

 duties, or are detailed for special service of this nature ; (e) by pur- 

 chase, when ai>propriations are made by Congress for that purpose. 



XIII. 



The treasures in the custody of the Museum are utilized to the world 

 by exhibiting them to the public, and by encouraging investigations on 

 the part of the officers of the Museum and other suitable persons, and 

 facilitating the publication of the results ; also by the distribution to 

 other museums and educational institutions of duplicate specimens, 

 which have formed the basis of scientific investigation, these being 

 identified and labeled by the best authorities. 



XIV. 



The Museum by these means fulfills a threefold function: 



1. It is a Museum of Record^ in which are preserved the material 

 foundations of an enormous amount of scientific knowledge — the types 

 of numerous past investigations. This is especially the case with those 

 materials which have served as a foundation for the reports upon the 

 resources of the United States. Types of investigations made outside 

 of the Museum are also incorporated. 



2. It is a Museum of Research^ by reason of the policy which aims to 

 make its contents serve as fully as possible as a stimulus to and a foun- 

 dation for the studies of scientific investigators. Kesearch is necessary 

 in order to identify and group the objects in the most philosophical and 

 instructive relations. Its officers are selected for their ability as inves- 

 tigators, as well as for their trustworthiness and abilities as custodians, 

 and its treasures are open to the use of any honest student. 



3. It is an Educational Museum of the broadest type, by reason of its 

 policy of illustrating by specimens every kind of natural object and 

 every manifestation of human thought and activity, by displaying de- 

 scriptive labels adapted to the popular mind, and by its ijolicy of dis- 

 tributing its publications and its named series of duplicates. 



(486) 



