Biological Institutions 



61 



through the personal efforts of Professor Baird, the then as- 

 sistant secretary of the Institution, and partly througli the ef- 

 forts of the scientists wlio accompanied the ji'overmneiit sur- 

 veys sent out about the middle of the last century. Professor 

 Baird awakened the interest of officers of the army and navy, 

 fishermen, fur traders, private explorers and members of the 

 Hudson's Bay and Western Union Telegraph Companies in 

 the collection of natural history objects, and in this way a 

 large amount of valuable material was secured by the 

 Institution. Since its establishment the National Museum 



The U. S. National Museum 



One of the architectural features of the new Washington. 



Courtesy of the Museum. 



has become the regular repository of the splendid collections 

 made by the U. S. Biological Survey, the Bureau of Fisheries, 

 the Bureaus of Animal and Plant Industry, and the U. S. 

 Geological Survey. IMuch material has also been gathered 

 through the expeditions of the Smithsonian Institution itself. 



The ethnological exhibits of the Museum are perhaps its 

 finest productions, but it has many beautiful groups of birds 

 and mammals as well, and a splendid collection of fossils. 



Its research work and resultant publications are largely 

 technical, consisting of the monographing and description of 

 groups and species of animals and plants in its collections. 



One of its important educational features is the distribution 



