VI INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE. 



material sent from abroad to this country is forwarded, prepaid by 

 the sender, to the agents or correspondents of the Institution in 

 their respective countries. Beyond this there is no expense to the 

 sender. 



A scientific society or an individual in the United States desiring 

 to take advantage of the Exchange Service should have all packages 

 strongly wrapped and legibly and fully addressed. All packages 

 constituting a consignment should be carefully packed to avoid 

 being damaged in transit, and forwarded to the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution at Washington, carriage prepaid. The separate packages 

 should not exceed one-half of one cubic foot in bulk, and they 

 should not contain letters or other written matter. 



In forwarding exchanges the sender should address a letter to the 

 Institution, stating by what route the consignment is being shipped 

 to Washington, and the number of boxes or parcels of which it is 

 composed. 



On the receipt of a consignment at the Institution each package 

 is assigned an " invoice number," and a record is made of the entire 

 list of packages under the sender's name. The separate packages 

 are also entered under the name of the person or office addressed. 

 An account is thus established with every correspondent of the In- 

 stitution, which shows readily what packages each one has sent or 

 received through the Exchange Service. The books are then packed 

 in boxes with contributions from other senders for the same coun- 

 try, and are forwarded by fast freight to the bureau or agency 

 abroad which has undertaken to distribute exchanges in that coun- 

 try. To Great Britain and Germany, where paid agencies of the 

 Institution are maintained, shipments are made weekly; to other 

 countries they are made at somewhat greater intervals. 



Each package sent out contains an addressed receipt card bearing 

 an " invoice number " identical with that upon the package. This 

 invoice number should be carefully noted by the recipient, as it is 

 the means of identifying the package, and it is important that the 

 card should be signed and mailed to the Institution without delay. 

 The receipt having been filed in the Exchange Office, the record of 

 that particular package is made complete, while failure to return 

 the receipt card gives rise to doubt as to the correctness of the 

 address, and future packages for that address may be returned 

 to the sender. 



Transmissions from abroad are received by freight in large boxes, 

 and are distributed in the United States under frank by registered 

 mail, a record first having been made of the name of the sender 

 and of the address of each package. A receipt card, returnable by 

 mail without postage, is sent with each of these packages, and the 



