288 MEMORIAL OF JOSEPH HENRY. 



service; and it was seen that to prosecute the subject of meteor- 

 ology over so large a territory, with the fullness necessary, would 

 require a still larger force of observers, and a greater drain upon 

 the resources of the Institution, than could well be spared from 

 other objects; and as the great value of the system was fully 

 recognized by the intelligent, the propriety of maintaining a 

 meteorological bureau by the national support was early presented 

 to the attention of Congress. This most important department of 

 observation had been advanced by Henry to that position, in which 

 a larger annual outlay than the entire income of the Institution 

 was really required to give just efficiency to the system. In his 

 Report for 1865, he remarked: "The present would appear to be 

 a favorable time to urge upon Congress the importance of making 

 provision for the reorganizing all the meteorological observations of 

 the United States under one combined plan, in which the records 

 should be sent to a central depot for reduction, discussion, and final 

 publication. An appropriation of 50,000 dollars annually for this 

 purpose would tend not only to advance the material interests of 

 the country, but also to increase its reputation. - - It is 

 scarcely necessary at this day to dwell on the advantages which 

 result from such systems of combined observations as those which 

 the principal governments of Europe have established, and are now 

 constantly extending." * 



Five years later, in support of the proposition that the subject 

 from its magnitude now appealed to the liberality of the nation, he 

 briefly recapitulated the work accomplished by the limited means 

 of the Institution. "The Smithsonian meteorological system was 

 commenced in 1849, and has continued in operation until the present 

 time. - - - It has done good service to the cause of meteor- 

 ology; 1st, in inaugurating the system which has been in operation 

 upward of twenty years : 2nd, in the introduction of improved instru- 

 ments after discussion and experiments : 3rd, in preparing and pub- 

 lishing at its expense an extensive series of meteorological tables : 

 4th, in reducing and discussing the meteorological material which 

 could be obtained from all the records from the first settlement of 

 the country till within a few years : 5th, in being the first to show 



* Smithsonian Report for 1865, p. 57. 



