36 ORNITHOLOGICAL DIRECTORY. 



A Synopsis of Ornithological Items. 



In connection with the fore«^oing items, a few rela- 

 tive to some of the largest collections in the United States, 

 are given below. In some cases, information was refused 

 on facts that might prove of much interest, for what rea- 

 son it was impracticable to ascertain. 



Approximate Value of the Public and Private Ornitholog- 

 ical and Oological Collections in U. S., . . $800,000. 



—Of Public Collections, . . $G00,000. 



—Of Private Collections, . . $200,000. 



[These values are based upon the information in my 

 possession, with, of course, due allowance for the values of 

 collections of which nothing could detinitely be ascertained, 

 and exclusive of the museums of zoological gardens; etc.] 



The National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 at Washington, is the largest public museum in the 

 United States. Its collections embrace species of thirds 

 from all portions of the globe, so far explored, and rep- 

 resent nearly every species and variety of North Amer- 

 ican bird known at present. 



Number of Birds in Smithsonian Institution, . 70,750. 

 Number of Eggs in Smithsonian Institution, . 17,270. 



OF PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. 



The following are some of the largest private collec- 

 tions in the United States. The specimens for the most 

 part, were collected by the owners themselves. 



