60 



Biology in America 



Such in brief are a few of the activities of this splendid 

 institution. 



One of the best additions to the architecture of the new 

 Washington is the building of the National Museum located 

 on the "Mall" or park, which stretches westward from the 

 Capitol to the Potomac River. The building is a simple, but 

 imposing structure of white granite and so arranged as to 

 provide the greatest amount of floor space possible in the 



NEW SOURCES OF AQUATIC FOOD, KELP, SNAILS, MUSSELS AND SQUID 

 Photograph of a group in the American Museum of Natural History 

 in New York. 



Courtesy of the Museum. 



area covered. Here are housed the natural history and an- 

 thropological collections of the U. S. Government, whose 

 formation was begun by the Wilkes exploring expedition 

 around the world in 1838-1842. 



In 1846 the Smithsonian Institution was established by 

 act of Congress in accordance with the will of the English 

 mineralogist James Smithson, who left an estate of about a 

 half million dollars to the United States for the "increase 

 and diffusion of knowledge among men." This act made the 

 National Museum a part of the Smithsonian Institution. The 

 early collections of the government were augmented partly 



